THE   SORROWS 
OF    SAP'ED 


JAMES    JEFFREY     FOCHE 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


[See  p.  139 

'Dost  expect  me  to  undo  a  malediction  made  ere  thou  wert  born?'" 


The  Sorrows  of  Sapped 

A  Problem  Story  of  the  East 


By 


Author  of 
"Her  Majesty  the  King"  etc. 

Illustrated  by 

W.  E.  Mears 


New  York  and  London 
Harper  &  Brothers  Publishers 


Copyright,  1904,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 

All  rights  reserved. 

Published  October,  1904. 


PS 
7 

511 


To  the  Better  Element 

Of  the  American  People,  who,  in  spite  of  early 
traditions  and  the  prejudices  of  a  political  system 
which  ignores  the  noblest  distinctions  of  society, 
have  ever  cherished  an  abiding  admirationfor  their 
siiperiors  of  exalted  rank  and  hereditary  worth, 

This  Literary  Masterpiece 

chronicling  the  lives  and  deeds  of  one  (i)  KING, 
five  (5)  QUEENS,  numerous  Princes,  Princesses, 
and  others  of  noble  birth  but  less  elevated  rank,  is 
Respectfully  Dedicated,  as  a  humble  tribute  to 
Position,  however  lofty,  and  to  Wealth,  however 
vast, 

By   Their  Fellow-Snob 

THE  AUTHOR. 


600135 

LIBRARf 


CONTENTS 


Page 

PREFACE ix 


The  Genie's  Curse i 

The  truth  is  with  him  who  speaketh  rather  than 
with  them  who  only  hear;  for  while  they  trust  to  one 
sense  alone,  he  himself  both  saiththe  thing  and  heareth 
it  said  also :  wherefore  if  aught  herein  seemeth  strange 
or  inconsistent,  remember  that  the  narrator  knoweth 
best.  Moreover,  who  is  telling  this  story,  anyway? 
— Personal  Recollections  of  Bel- Abba. 

II 
King  Sapped  Seeks  Variety 15 

It  sometimes  happeneth  that  a  thing  of  no  in 
trinsic  value  may  lend  value  to  its  environment,  like 
the  unobtrusive  rock  in  a  load  of  hay. — Shacabac  the 
Wayfarer. 

Ill 

Queen    Kandora's     Wisdom    Makes     War 

Welcome 29 

Misfortune  sometimes  gives  us  clearest  vision.  An 
ingenuous  young  girl  was  carrying  home  twin  flasks 
of  rare  perfumery  from  the  bazaar,  when  one  of  them 
fell  and  was  broken  to  pieces.  Thereupon  the  girl 
wept  bitterly,  saying,  "I  should  not  be  so  sorry  were 
it  mine  own,  but  that  flask  was  my  mother's."  "How 
couldst  thou  distinguish  one  from  the  other?"  in 
quired  a  sympathetic  by-stander.  "I  could  not," 
sobbed  the  sweet  child,  "until  it  was  broken." — Ka- 
yenna  of  Ubikwi. 


vi  Contents 


Page 

The  Terrible  Battle  of  Roota-Baaga  ...       39 

The  only  just  war  is  that  which  bringeth  happiness 
and  profit  to  all  concerned  in  it.  Such  a  war  is  fitly 
commemorated  by  a  stately  obelisk  of  which  each 
end  is  the  top.  —  El  Bendah,  the  Elder. 

V 
Dazee  Comes  to   Babosa  .......       52 

Poverty  hath  its  compensations.  A  tattered  suit 
is  as  good  as  an  invisible  cloak  to  conceal  its  wearer 
from  the  friends  of  his  prosperity.  —  Sayings  of  Ben- 
Haround. 

VI 
Dazee  Comforteth  the  King  with  a   Vision       63 

A  reformer  who  sought  to  moderate  the  heat  of 
the  sun  by  putting  his  thermometer  on  ice,  said: 
"Well  begun  is  half  done.  I  have  cooled  the  ther 
mometer,  anyhow."  —  Wisdom  of  Shacabac. 

VII 
How  to  Bring  Up  Parents:  with  Annotations 

by  One  of  Them  ........       79 

If  children  were  made  before  their  parents,  family 
life  would  be  different  from  what  it  is.  —  How  to  Raise 
Hens:  by  an  Experienced  Egg. 

VIII 
Containing  Valuable  Discourse  on  the  Art  of 

Healing  ...........       89 

Mice  are  unfit  for  self-government.  That  is  why 
a  cat  may  look  at  a  king  without  blushing.  —  The 
Lives  of  Bacalli. 

IX 

The  Mysterious  Bedouin  of  the  Desert    .     .     100 

The  hardest  heart  may  yet  be  moved  by  one  who 
begs  him  not  to  contribute  money  to  an  unworthy, 
i.e..  a  rival,  cause.  —  Confessions  of  a  Prophet. 


Contents  vii 


Page 

The  Ingenious  Stratagem  of  King  Sap'ed     .     112 

The  people  of  Chimerica  are  the  freest  in  the  world  : 
they  are  allowed  to  choose  their  own  robbers.  — 
The  Sage  of  the  Bosphorus. 

XI 

Dazee  and  Her  Property  Mother  .     .     .     .     121 

"The  laws  of  Allah  are  wrong,"  said  the  man 
who  stiff  ered  from  breaking  them.  "The  north 
star  is  out  of  its  course,"  said  the  mariner  whose 
compass  was  out  of  order.  —  Abulfeda  the  Epicure. 

XII 
A  Modern  Genie  of  Punctual  Habits     .     .     131 

Alexander  the  Great  wept  because  there  were 
no  more  worlds  to  conquer.  He  had  then  con 
quered  about  fifteen  per  cent,  of  one  planet;  with 
all  America  and  several  hundred  precincts  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa  yet  to  be  heard  from.  Alexander 
was  born  too  soon.  —  Reflections  of  Timour  Beg. 

XIII 

The  Renegado  and  the  Pirate's  Plot  .     .     .     142 

A  gun  is  handy  in  time  of  trouble,  and  trouble 
is  handy  where  there  is  a  gun.  —  Woppajah  on  Com 
parative  Causation. 

XIV 
A  Sea-Fight  and  Its  Hero?  ......      153 

The  soldier  is  the  only  wild  animal  that  does  not  eat 
what  he  kills.  —  The  Judgment  of  Jessups. 

XV 
The  Pirate's  Secret  Unveiled    .....      166 

Sometimes  a  man  doth  wisely  commit  his  work 
to  another,  as  when  he  wisheth  his  ship  wrecked 
for  the  insurance.  —  The  Business  Man's  Primer. 


viii  Contents 


Page 

A  Night  of  Horror 175 

A  certain  prophet  predicted  that  the  world  would 
come  to  an  end  within  one  twelvemonth,  and  when 
men  laughed  at  him  he  said,  proudly,  that  "Posterity 
would  vindicate  him." — Sap'edibn  Abu  Kalor. 

XVII 
The  King's  Mystery 182 

Allah  be  praised!  I  have  no  vanity.  Enough  for 
me  if  men  say,  "His  modesty  doth  equal  his  merit." 
— Shacabac  on  Humility. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

"Dost  expect  me  to  undo  a 
malediction  made  ere  thou 

Wert   born?'" Frontispiece 

' '  In  the  rude  jar  of  my  un 
welcoming'" Facing  p.  6 

"She  was  a  lamp  for  their  eyes 
and  a  guide  for  their  foot 
steps'"  "  30 

"  I  leave  these  females  in  your 

care'" "         50 

"It  was  a  thrilling  moment"     .        "        74 

' '  But  what  did  they  do  before 

the   bug  was  discovered?'"        "        94 
"Celebrating  his  marriage  eve  by 

dining  informally ".     .     .     .        "       176 
"Alone,  in  splendid  state,  silent, 
.  .  .  the     great     genie,     El 
Hatem" "       188 


PREFACE 


HEN  the  venerable  author  of  a  cer 
tain  marvellous  history,  known  and 
admired  by  discriminating  readers 
of  every  land,1  had  finished  that 
matchless  work,  he  indited  a  pre 
face,  in  which,  righteously  repelling 
any  temptation  to  false  modesty,  he  con 
fessed  that  he  himself  was  overcome  by 
the  multitude  and  magnitude  of  its  merits. 
How  little  doth  even  the  wisest  of  men 
know  how  to  measure  his  own  fallibility! 
Not  many  moons  thereafter,  his  friend 
Ben-Haround,  the  Pauper  Poet,  chancing 

1  Her  Majesty  the  King:  a  Romance  of  the  Ha 
rem. 

xi 


xii  Preface 

to  visit  the  tent  of  the  good  sage,  was 
surprised  to  find  him  clothed  in  sackcloth 
and  loudly  deploring  his  blind  ignorance 
— as  was  not  his  wont. 

Urged  to  unbosom  his  grief,  the  patriarch 
but  smote  his  breast,  crying  aloud:  "Alas, 
good  Ben  -  Haround,  I  grieve  because  I 
have  drawn  the  water  of  foolishness  from 
the  cistern  of  vainglory.  Therefore  shall 
I  become  a  by-word  and  a  scoffing  to  all 
men,  for  that  I  am  the  cause  of  mine  own 
undoing!" 

"Great  sage,"  cried  the  deeply  moved 
poet,  "tell  me  the  cause  of  thy  misfortune; 
for,  verily,  the  world  knoweth  not  of  it, 
nor  do  I  see  how  it  ever  may,  unless  thou — ' 

"There  is  no  'unless,'  O  Ben-Haround; 
for,  did  I  conceal  my  shame,  the  greater 
would  the  shame  be,  and  much  the  greater 
my  wrong  in  concealing  it,  and  yet  vastly 
the  greater  the  loss  to  mankind  robbed  of 
a  priceless  gem  of  literature  —  to  say 
naught  of  mere  sordid  royalties  and  other 
worldly  considerations." 

Again  the  good  man  smote  his  breast; 
until,  at  last  wearied  by  his  self-punish- 


Preface  xiii 

ment,  he  composed  himself  somewhat  and 
said  : 

"Know,  then,  my  trusted  friend,  that 
what  is  said  is  said  and  may  be  denied; 
what  is  written  is  written  and  may  be 
destroyed;  but  what  is  printed  goeth  far 
and  wide  and  may  not  be  gainsaid.  I 
have  said,  I  have  written;  woe  is  me!  I 
have  printed  that  a  certain  book1  ex- 
celleth  all  others  in  the  possession  of  every 
merit — " 

"And,"  broke  in  Ben-Haround  with 
warmth,  "naught  that  thou  hast  said, 
naught  that  thou  hast  written,  naught 
that  thou  hast  printed  is  other  than  the 
plain,  simple,  modest  truth.  Why,  then, 
this  unmanly  grief?" 

"List  and  I  will  tell  thee  why.  What  I 
have  said,  written,  spoken,  is  not  the  truth. 
Nay,  check  me  not.  I  know  of  a  better!" 

"Impossible!"  cried  the  startled  poet. 
"  Tell  me  the  name  of  this  wonderful 
book;  and  who  saith  that  it  is  a  better." 

The  sage's  voice  shook,  but  presently, 

1  Her  Majesty  the  King:  a  Romance  of  the  Ha 
rem. 


xiv  Preface 

calming  himself  with  an  effort,  he  said, 
sorrowfully : 

"Enough  for  thee  that  I  myself  say  so. 
I  have  read  the  book;  I  confess  its  sur 
passing  excellence.  It  is  my  duty  to  do 
so  before  all  the  world.  Would  it  were 
otherwise!  But  can  the  just  parent  deny 
the  perfection  of  his  second-born  child 
because  he  hath  unwisely  and  prematurely 
extolled  that  of  his  first?  Allah  forbid! 
Know,  then,  dearest  of  friends  (next  to  the 
intelligent  buyer  and  second  next  to  the 
judicious  reader),  that  even  in  the  same 
proportion  must  stand  that  noble  work  of 
literature  beside  the  transcendent  and  in 
comparable  history  known  hereafter  for 
all  time  as  The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed." 

The  wisdom  of  his  judgment  is  eloquent 
ly  attested  in  the  following  pages. 


The  Sorrows  of  Safied 


The  Genie's  Curse 


best. 


The  truth  is  with  him  who  speaketh 
rather  than  with  them  who  only  hear; 
for  while  they  trust  to  one  sense  alone, 
he  himself  both  saith  the  thing  and 
heareth  it  said  also:  wherefore  if  aught 
herein  seemeth  strange  or  inconsistent, 
remember  that  the  narrator  knoweth 
Moreover,  who  is  telling  this  story, 


anyway? — Personal  Recollections  of  Bel- Abba. 

HE  happiest  man  in  all   Gallimatia, 
and   therefore   in    the   world,  was, 
properly    enough,  its    lawful   ruler 
and  king,  Sap'ed  ibn  Abu  Kalor,1 
sixth  of  his  royal  line. 
Within   the   space   of   an  hour,   the 
saddest  man  in  all  Gallimatia  was — 

1  Literally,  "Son  of  the  Father  of  Kalor,"  so 
named  to  commemorate  his  deceased  brother, 
Kalor.  The  custom  is  peculiar  to  Gallimatia,  and 
not  to  be  commended,  since  it  necessitates  the 
mention  of  Kalor,  who  hath  naught  to  do  with 
this  history,  and,  in  all  likelihood,  was  of  little 


2          The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

and  this  not  properly  at  all — the  same 
great  and  mighty  monarch,  to  whom 
in  all  things  the  superlative  degree  ap 
pertained  by  divine  right. 

This  is  the  history  of  the  manner  in 
which  a  change  so  momentous  came  to 
pass,  as  told  in  the  truthful  Memoirs 
of  Bel-Abba,  the  great  historian. 

It  was  on  the  first  anniversary  of  his 
coronation  that  King  Sap'ed  arose  from 
his  throne  in  the  audience-chamber  to 
announce  an  important  event,  the  same 
being  nothing  less  than  his  forthcoming 
marriage.  The  king,  attired  in  royal 
robes,  with  crown  and  sceptre,  made  an 
imposing  figure  before  all  the  brilliant 

loss  to  the  world,  which  he  left  none  too  soon. 
But  so  it  is  with  some  parents,  who  are  inconsid 
erate  in  such  matters.  The  present  editor  once 
knew  a  worthy  man  in  Rahway,  New  Jersey, 
named  Pye,  who,  wishing  to  honor  at  the  same 
time  his  own  son  and  the  Father  of  his  Country, 
christened  the  boy  "Washington,"  thus  entailing 
on  his  offspring  much  humiliation  and  ridicule  in 
after-years.  But  this  incident,  though  instruct 
ive,  is  not  germane  to  the  present  narrative,  and 
may  be  safely  skipped  by  the  busy  reader. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed  3 

throng,  as  he  leaned  one  hand  grace 
fully  on  the  arm  of  the  throne  and  held 
the  other  lightly  thrust  in  the  bosom 
of  his  tunic.  He  was  noted  for  his 
eloquence  as  much  as  for  his  manly 
beauty,  valor,  wisdom,  and  other  he 
reditary  virtues.  In  order  that  no  un 
toward  lapse  of  memory  might  mar  the 
perfection  of  his  speech,  he  carried  a 
manuscript  copy  of  it  in  his  left  sleeve. 
Thus  prepared,  he  began:  "My  lords 
and  loyal  subjects, — Unaccustomed  as  I 
am  to  pub —  '  when  crash!  bang!  at  a 
signal  from  the  leader,  the  royal  orches 
tra  of  one  hundred  pieces  burst  into  the 
anthem  which  always  precedes  a  speech 
from  the  throne.  At  the  same  moment 
a  thousand  sweet  voices  of  choir -boys 
and  minstrels  were  lifted  in  the  words 
of  the  noble  strain : 


"The  monarch  speaks!     Be  silent  all! 
Let  not  a  pin  or  shadow  fall! 
Let  no  fly  flutter  on  the  wall! 
Be  silent! 


4          The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

' '  Let  the  kettle  to  the  trumpet  shout ! 
The  trumpet  to  the  cannoneer  without, 
And  the  cannon  to  the  heavens  thunder  out- 
Be  silent  1" 


Amid  the  crash  of  cymbals,  the  throb 
bing  of  drums,  and  the  roar  of  artillery, 
the  command  was  piously  obeyed  by  all 
save  one  heedless  wretch,  a  deaf-mute 
slave,  whom  the  vigilant  eye  of  the 
master  of  ceremonies  detected  in  the 
very  act  of  talking  on  his  fingers  with 
a  fellow  -  caitiff .  Some  moments  were 
consumed  in  calling  both  culprits  to 
account  and  consigning  them  to  the 
custody  of  the  chief -executioner. 

The  king,  well  pleased  with  the  zeal 
of  his  faithful  subjects,  was  again  about 
to  speak,  when  all  eyes  and  ears  were 
attracted  by  a  loud  noise  at  the  door  of 
the  chamber.  A  strident  voice  broke 
the  solemn  quiet  by  crying  aloud: 
"What  ho!  A  message  for  the  king, 
from  the  great  Lord  Woppajah !  Gang 
way  there,  ye  scum!" 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed          5 

A  less  considerate  monarch  than  King 
Sap'ed  would  have  been  annoyed  by 
the  interruption  at  such  a  time,  but  he 
was  ever  patient  and  reasonable.  More 
over,  he  feared  lest  any  irritation  of 
feeling  might  cause  him  to  forget  some 
of  the  best  points  of  his  speech.  He 
waited  until  the  turmoil  had  somewhat 
abated  and  the  captain  of  the  guards 
had  brought  the  disturber  to  the  foot 
of  the  throne.  There  was  a  slight  cloud 
on  the  brow  of  the  monarch  as  he  asked : 
"  How  now,  sirrah !  What  meaneth  this 
intrusion  on  our  presence?" 

The  stranger  fell  on  his  knees,  crying : 
"  Pardon,  your  Majesty,  but  I  had  to 
tell  my  message  ere  the  irrevocable 
words  should  pass  thy  noble  lips;  and 
the  guards  would  have  withheld  me,  had 
they  been  able.  Methinks  that  some 
two  —  or,  mayhap,  three  —  of  them 
will  not  so  rudely  entreat  the  stranger 
at  thy  gate  again."  He  smiled  grimly 
as  he  spoke,  half  looking  backward  to 


6          The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

where  the  guards  were  clustered  around 
some  fallen  comrades. 

But  the  king  grew  wroth  and  thun 
dered  out:  "Peace,  knave!  and  if  thou 
hast  a  message  to  deliver,  speak  it 
quickly.  This  insolence  passeth  belief !' ' 

The  stranger  noted  the  angry  tone 
and  accompanying  look.  ' '  Pardon  again, 
gracious  monarch,"  he  said,  humbly. 
"In  the  rude  jar  of  my  unwelcoming, 
not  to  mention  the  bite  which  my  left 
ear  hath  sustained  at  the  teeth  of  one 
of  those  scurvy  guardsmen,  so  that  I 
am  fain  to  feel  if  it  be  still  there  with 
my  fingers  and  thumb,  more  weighty 
matter  had  wellnigh  been  forgot.  I 
am  a  man  of  deeds,  not  words,  your 
Majesty — Ahlgab,  the  Persian,  at  your 
Majesty's  service  and  command." 

"Then  I  command  thee  once  again," 
cried  the  irate  monarch.  "Use  that 
wagging  tongue  of  thine  to  speak  its 
message  an  thou  wouldst  keep  both 
thine  ears  on  thy  foolish  head." 


"'In  the  rude  jar  of  my  unwelcoming1" 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed          7 

"  Speak,  fool!"  hissed  the  grand  cham 
berlain  in  his  ear.  "Art  mad,  to  keep 
the  mighty  King  Sap'ed  waiting?" 

Ahlgab  touched  the  floor  thrice  with 
his  forehead  ere  he  spoke,  yet  ever  keep 
ing  a  wary  eye  over  his  shoulder  on  the 
group  of  excited  guards .  "My  message , 
illustrious  monarch,  is  from  the  vener 
able  Woppajah,  the  hermit  of  the  Holy 
Mountain,  who  humbly  biddeth  your 
Majesty  beware  the  prophecy  of  your 
Majesty's  great -great -grandsire's  fairy 
godfather,  the  powerful  genie  El  Hatem, 
what  time  your  Majesty's  distinguished 
great-great-grandsire  committed  the  fa 
tal  error  of  inviting  his  fairy  godfather 
to  his  wedding." 

King  Sap'ed  was  a  reasonable  poten 
tate  and  fond  of  a  story.  Moreover,  he 
knew  that  his  audience,  while  affecting 
to  be  deeply  interested  in  his  speech 
and  applauding  at  every  pause,  would 
be  thinking  the  while  of  other  matters, 
and  saying  to  themselves  that  they 


8  The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

would  read  it  in  the  paper  to-morrow, 
albeit  when  to-morrow  came  they  would 
shrug  their  shoulders  with  a  "We  need 
not  read  it,  for  we  heard  it  all  yester 
day."  For  such  is  the  way  of  an  unre- 
generate  world.  Besides,  the  king  was 
sure  by  this  time  that  he  had  forgotten 
nearly  all  of  the  best  passages,  and  he 
disliked  referring  to  notes.  So,  dismiss 
ing  the  audience  with  a  few  words  - 
"Well-chosen  words,"  the  Court  Jour 
nal  said  in  its  next  issue — he  bade  the 
stranger  proceed  with  his  tale.  Thus 
encouraged,  Ahlgab  began: 

"  Know  then,  your  Majesty,  that  the 
great  and  mighty  King  Abulfeda,  your 
Majesty's  great-great-grandsire,  had  for 
godfather  the  powerful  but  somewhat 
uneven-tempered  genie  El  Hatem,  who 
always  said  that  he  had  never  really 
wanted  to  be  a  godfather  to  anybody. 
He  detested  children,  and  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  inventor  of  soothing- 
syrup.  But  when  the  parents  of  your 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed          9 

Majesty's  illustrious  ancestor  asked  him 
to  act  as  sponsor  for  their  darling,  he 
consented,  on  one  condition — namely, 
that  he  was  not  to  be  asked  to  attend 
any  future  function,  whether  it  were  a 
tooth-cutting,  a  colic,  a  birthday,  or  any 
other  whatsoever. 

"To  this  your  illustrious  ancestors 
agreed,  for  they  knew  how  perilous  it 
might  be  to  cross  the  wishes  of  a  pow 
erful  genie.  But  they  little  knew  how 
perilous  it  really  was,  until  the  time 
came  for  the  marriage  of  their  adored 
son  with  the  daughter  of  a  neighboring 
prince.  The  lady,  who  was  the  god 
child  of  a  mighty  Afreet,  happened  to 
ask  of  her  noble  betrothed,  one  day, 
whether  or  not  he  had  a  godfather  or 
godmother  of  such  high  rank  as  her 
own.  Whereat,  being  piqued,  he  rather 
boastfully  mentioned  El  Hatem,  and 
the  fair  princess  immediately  demand 
ed  that  he  be  invited  to  the  wedding, 
'to  meet  the  Afreets.'  Now  the  young 


io        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

prince  knew  not  that  El  Hatem  detested 
solemn  functions  of  every  kind,  as  he 
was  getting  on  in  years — " 

Here  King  Sap'ed  lifted  his  hand. 
"Getting  on  in  years,"  he  repeated. 
"Who  ever  heard  of  a  genie's  being 
affected  by  age?" 

"  Pardon,  your  Majesty,"  replied  Ahl- 
gab,  confidently,  "but  genies  do  differ 
in  age,  as  in  power.  It  depends  largely 
on  the  age  at  which  they  were  made 
genies  and  how  they  have  developed. 
Some  few  who  have  attained  perfection 
never  change  thereafter ;  but  of  the  rest, 
the  young  grow  younger,  and  the  old 
grow  older  constantly." 

"And  the  middle-aged  grow  more 
middle-aged,  I  suppose,"  suggested  Sap 
'ed,  always  a  keen  student  of  genieol- 

ogy. 

"Exactly,"  assented  Ahlgab;  "and 
that  was  the  way  with  El  Hatem.  Ev 
ery  succeeding  century  found  him  more 
confirmed  in  middle-agehood  and  averse 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        n 

to  a  change  in  any  other  direction 
or  form.  He  especially  detested  the 
necessity  of  putting  on  full-dress,  which 
was  both  inconvenient  and  unbecoming 
to  him." 

"  I  agree  with  him  there,"  quoth  the 
king,  who  loathed  the  prescribed  cos 
tume;  "but  why  should  a  genie  sub 
mit  to  the  trammels  of  artificial  so 
ciety?" 

"  Because  he  has  a  morbid  hatred  of 
seeming  eccentric,  as  all  immortals 
have,"  was  the  reply.  "  He  is  very  par 
ticular  about  his  wings  also  as  he  has 
grown  more  middle-aged.  The  tightly 
fitting  black  garment  rumples  his  feath 
ers.  He  abhors  a  stiff,  white  breast 
plate,  and  shining,  black  shoes  are  a 
torture  to  his  proud,  untrammelled  feet. 
He  would  rather  wear  a  hornet's  nest 
on  his  head  than  the  dismal  cylinder 
ordained  by  fashion." 

"  A  highly  sensible  and  self-respecting 
spirit!"  cried  the  king.  "If  it  be  not 


12         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

too  late,  I  should  like  to  have  the  honor 
of  his  company  at  our  own  nuptials. 
Make  a  note  of  it,  Bel- Abba,"  he  said 
to  the  high  chamberlain. 

But  here  Ahlgab  cried  aghast,  "  Nay, 
nay,  your  Majesty,  not  for  your  sacred 
life!  List  to  the  rest  of  my  tale." 

"Thou  art  unmannerly,  knave,"  re 
buked  the  king;  "but  go  on.  What 
happened?" 

"There  is  but  little  more  to  tell,"  re 
plied  Ahlgab.  "The  genie  attended 
the  wedding — woe  the  day  for  Galli- 
matia !  But  he  carried  with  him,  as  his 
bridal  gift,  a  new  and  highly  ingenious 
curse  constructed  for  him  by  a  demon 
friend  who  had  a  nice  taste  in  such 
things." 

"What  was  it?"  eagerly  asked  the 
king. 

"  A  malediction,  your  Majesty,  of  re 
markable  originality  and  enduring  qual 
ity  ;  and  in  poetry,  which  is  always  more 
virulent  and  far-reaching,  I  am  told. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        13 

It  was  warranted  by  the  maker  to  be 
effective  for  six  generations,  and  ran  as 
follows : 

" '  The  maid  who  loves  the  king  shall  die  the 

day  she  is  his  wife ; 

But   she  who  weds  and   loves   him  not  hath 
many  a  year  of  life.'  " 

The  king  shuddered.  "  Thou  needest 
not  send  that  invitation,  Bel- Abba,"  he 
said.  Then,  after  a  meditative  pause, 
he  turned  to  Ahlgab:  "But  hath  the 
curse  worked  always?" 

"That  I  know  not,  your  Majesty," 
was  the  discreet  reply.  "The  succes 
sion  hath  not  failed,  Allah  be  praised!" 

"  But  if  this  be  true,"  cried  the  king, 
"my  hapless  forefathers  must  have 
lacked  the  true  love  of  my  even  more 
hapless  foremothers !" 

Then  was  the  king  sore  perplexed, 
for  he  dearly  loved  the  fair  princess 
Hanemia,  whose  equal  love  for  him  he 
could  not  for  a  moment  doubt.  Should 
he  then  wed  her,  it  would  be  to  lose  her 


14        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

by  death;  and  in  twenty-four  hours  he 
was  pledged  to  take  her  to  wife.  Long 
and  anxiously  he  debated  with  himself 
before  speaking.  At  last  he  said: 

"  This,  indeed,  is  a  grievous  blow  to  all 
our  hopes.  But  we  must  consider  it 
gravely.  Meantime,  we  conjure  you 
all — our  trusty  chamberlain,  Bel-Abba, 
and  you,  too,  Ahlgab — that  you  breathe 
not  a  word  of  this  to  any  one,  least  of 
all  to  the  high-born  princess  Hanemia, 
if  you  value  your  lives  at  the  worth  of 
a  brazen  dirhem.  We  ourselves  shall 
break  the  sad  news  to  her.  It  really 
concerns  her  as  much  as  anybody,  in  a 
way." 


King  Sap'ed  Seeks  Variety 


It  sometimes  happeneth  that  a  thing 
of  no  intrinsic  value  may  lend  value  to 
its  environment,  like  the  unobtrusive 
rock  in  a  load  of  hay. — Shacabac  the 
Wayfarer. 

O  to  any  high-born  princess 
whom  you  happen  to  have 
promised  to  marry  within  the 
next  twenty -four  hours,  and 
tell  her,  no  matter  how  deli 
cately,  that  if  she  really  and  truly  loves 
you,  as  she  has  probably  assured  you 
that  she  does,  it  would  be  so  much 
money  in  her  pocket  to  dispense  with 
the  outlay  for  travelling-gowns,  because 
—well,  there's  the  rub,  when  it  comes 
to  saying  the  because.  King  Sap'ed, 
15 


1 6        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

who,  although  a  great  and  good  mon 
arch,  was  not  in  some  respects  very 
much  wiser  than  you  or  I,  studied  out 
his  speech  that  far,  as  we  should  have 
done  in  his  place,  and  came  to  a  dead 
wall. 

Then  he  laid  the  case  before  the  wise 
Bel-Abba,  who,  being  a  bachelor,  might 
be  supposed  to  be  well  versed  in  femi 
nine  nature,  for,  as  he  often  said,  "It  is 
not  the  fish  which  gets  caught  that  is 
the  best  authority  on  lures  and  hooks 
and  landing-nets."  That  sage  consid 
ered  the  problem  carefully  before  he 
spoke:  "It  is  of  the  first  consequence," 
he  said,  at  last,  "that  your  Majesty 
should  marry.  It  is  your  royal  pre 
rogative  to  marry  whom  you  will.  In 
choosing  the  fairest  and  noblest  maiden 
of  Gallimatia,  you  obey  the  impulse  of 
a  lofty  soul.  In  assuming  the  dread 
risk  of  losing  your  adored  one,  you 
should  but  prove  the  intrepid  devotion 
of  the  warrior  and  the  king.  Should 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        17 

an  unhallowed  fate  doom  you  to  be 
reavement  almost  at  the  altar,  your 
faithful  people  will  sorrow  in  your  sor 
row,  even  as  they  rejoice  in  your  joy. 
Let  mine  be  the  duty  of  ordering  the 
flowers ;  and  should  it  be  written  in  the 
book  of  destiny  that  Grief,  instead  of 
Bliss,  shall  sit  at  the  feast,  there  is  a  sad 
consolation  in  the  thought  that  the  pure 
white  emblems  of  love  will  be  fresh 
enough  for — for — " 

Here  his  fortitude  failed  the  worthy 
servant,  and  he  left  the  sentence  un 
finished  and  his  master  deeply  touched 
by  his  thoughtful  foresight. 

The  ceremony  was  performed  next 
day  with  all  the  pomp  befitting  the 
occasion.  The  fair  bride,  in  happy  ig 
norance  of  the  sombre  cloud  hanging 
over  her,  was  radiantly  beautiful,  but  a 
little  depressed  by  the  fatigue  of  the 
long  and  elaborate  pageantry.  Tow 
ards  the  close  she  betrayed  signs  of  ex 
haustion,  and  immediately  after  the 


1 8        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

wedding-feast  she  reluctantly  begged 
to  be  excused,  and  withdrew  to  her 
apartments.  The  king  was  conscience- 
stricken  and  alarmed,  as  he  saw  her  sup 
ported  from  the  hall.  Masking  his  un 
easiness  under  an  air  of  gayety,  he  yet 
found  himself  glancing  at  the  dial  and 
shuddering  as  the  shadow  of  the  gno 
mon  drew  nearer  and  nearer  towards  the 
line  of  sunset.  As  soon  as  it  could  be 
done  without  attracting  attention,  he 
gave  the  sign  of  dismissal  to  his  guests 
and  sat,  alone,  by  the  dial. 

An  hour — three-quarters — a  half — a 
quarter — and  every  minute  a  messenger 
from  the  queen's  chamber  brought  him 
the  stereotyped  report  of  the  attending 
leech:  "We  are  about  the  same — about 
the  same." 

Ten  minutes  —  five  —  four  —  three  — 
two.  The  king's  anxiety  amounted  al 
most  to  frenzy.  Still  the  slow  finger 
of  the  dial  crept  relentlessly  on. 

At  last  it  touched  the  line.     At  the 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        19 

moment  entered  the  court  physician 
with  noiseless  step  and  congealed  smile. 

"Cheer  up,  your  Majesty.  We  are 
better.  We  havo  just  asked  for  a  little 
more  refreshment." 

It  hath  been  wisely  said  that  a  sud 
den  revulsion  from  sadness  to  joy  is  al 
most  as  shocking  as  the  reverse.  So 
must  it  have  been  with  the  agitated 
monarch,  for  he  leaped  to  his  feet,  and 
all  but  smote  the  venerable  leech  as  he 
pushed  him  aside  and  exclaimed:  "Oh, 
we  have,  have  we?  And  what  in  Eblis 
are  we  grinning  about?"  The  experi 
enced  healer  but  smiled  the  more  at  the 
outbreak,  saying  to  himself: 

"Happiness  never  hurts,"  adding, 
aloud,  "We  shall  be  all  the  better  for 
hearing  of  your  Majesty's  good  spirits." 

Whereupon  the  king  was  smitten 
with  sudden  remorse  for  that  he  had 
concealed  the  secret  of  the  curse  from 
his  bride,  and  he  began  to  fear  that  when 
she  learned  of  it,  her  love  for  him  would 


20        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

be  changed  to  anger.  "And  yet,"  he 
cried,  "  if  she  really  loved  me,  she  would 
not  be  alive  this  moment.  Her  present 
indisposition  at  best  indicates  nothing 
more  than  a  high  admiration  coupled 
with  profound  respect;  but  is  that 
love?" 

Anon  he  would  be  seized  by  a  new 
fear,  saying,  "Mayhap  the  curse  hath 
only  lost  some  of  its  potency  with  age. 
Horrible  it  would  be,  did  I  doubt  her 
love  while  she  was  wasting  away  before 
my  eyes." 

The  thought  distressed  him  more  than 
anything  else;  nor  was  he  reassured  by 
the  ever-present  smile  on  the  counte 
nance  of  the  more  than  ever-present 
physician.  That  faithful  functionary 
reported  every  hour  for  many  and  many 
a  day  on  the  condition  of  his  patient, 
and  the  report  was  ever  the  same:  "We 
are  holding  our  own,  your  Majesty,  but 
we  must  keep  up  the  alimentation. 
Give  fuel  to  the  engine,  is  my  motto." 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        21 

He  observed  it  zealously,  yet  discreet 
ly  withal.  "  Build  up  our  tissues,"  he 
would  say,  "but  with  stated  regularity; 
strong  food  at  every  meal,  but  nothing 
between  meals." 

Hanemia  obeyed  him  with  implicit 
confidence.  She  took  her  meals  punctu 
ally  every  hour,  and  nothing  else  passed 
her  lips,  save  such  predigested  liquid 
food  as  her  depleted  system  imperatively 
demanded.  It  was  a  severe  ordeal,  but 
the  leech  was  Spartan  in  his  firmness. 

So,  slowly  but  steadily,  her  contours 
developed  in  ever  -  increasing  charms. 
To  the  king's  gallant  compliment  on 
her  improved  appearance,  the  physician 
would  smile,  shake  his  head,  and  say: 
"Appearance!  Ah,  yes,  your  Majesty, 
but  appearances  are  hollow."  Only 
once  was  the  patient  king  heard  to  say, 
aside,  "They  have  to  be,  to  accommo 
date  so  much  nourishment";  and  the 
thoughtless  jest  was  repeated  in  the 
palace,  as  such  idle  words  are,  and  dis- 


22         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

torted  cruelly  into  a  reflection  on  the 
queen's  appetite.  So  that,  some  days 
afterwards,  when  the  invalid  felt  strong 
enough  to  be  carried  out  on  the  sunlit 
terrace,  the  queen-mother  went  thither 
also,  accompanied  by  her  favorite  cat, 
Bacalli,  and  one  of  her  kittens.  The 
young  queen  took  up  the  kitten  and 
fondled  it  tenderly,  saying  what  a 
beauty  it  was,  and  that  it  looked  "  sweet 
enough  to  eat."  It  was  surely  a  harm 
less  figure  of  speech;  yet,  on  hearing  it, 
Bacalli,  with  bristling  fur,  leaped  on  her 
knee,  seized  the  kitten  in  her  mouth 
and  bore  it  from  the  room.  Nor  was 
the  pained  heart  of  the  young  queen  re 
lieved  when  the  queen-mother,  sniffing, 
said,  pointedly:  "It  may  come  to  that 
yet ;  the  meat  bill  is  more  to  be  dreaded 
than  the  ridiculous  genie's  curse."  For 
the  proud  matron,  having  herself  sur 
vived  the  dread  anathema,  regarded  it 
as  an  imputation  on  her  perfect  love  for 
the  deceased  lord,  who  had  carefully 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        23 

avoided  mentioning  it  to  her  either  be 
fore  or  after  marriage.  He  was  a  pru 
dent  monarch  and  much  appreciated 
after  death.  His  distinguished  relict 
told  Hanemia  of  the  curse,  only  to  point 
out  its  preposterous  futility;  but  the 
young  bride  was  so  shocked  that  she 
had  a  relapse,  and  was  obliged  to  return 
to  her  dietary,  of  which  the  sage  leech 
increased  the  doses  forthwith. 

Sap'ed  was  driven  to  the  verge  of  de 
spair,  and  would  have  waited  on  the 
patient  in  person,  but  that  she  was 
scrupulously  considerate  of  his  com 
fort  and  rarely  permitted  him  to  get  up 
more  than  twice  or  thrice  in  a  night  and 
explore  the  kitchen  for  some  slight  but 
much-needed  refection.  On  one  of  those 
rare  occasions,  while  he  was  vainly  es 
saying  to  pry  open  the  refractory  lid  of 
a  can  of  meat-extract  with  the  point  of 
his  sceptre,  he  exclaimed,  nursing  a 
bruised  thumb  the  while:  "Curse  or  no 
curse,  by  Allah !  if  my  adored  Hanemia 


24         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

do  not  experience  a  change  of  some  sort, 
I  shall  advertise  in  two  days  for  a  prin 
cess  of  an  affectionate  and  robust  dis 
position  who  is  not  afraid  of  tardy 
anathemas." 

This  unhappy  speech  also  was  carried 
to  envious  ears ;  but  the  king  knew 
naught  of  that;  and  in  due  time  he  did 
advertise  in  the  "  want "  column  of  the 
Court  Journal,  top  of  page,  next  to  pure 
reading-matter. 

The  nation  was  astounded,  and  so 
was  the  king,  at  the  number  of  answers 
received  by  the  first  mail.  The  candi 
dates  came  in  person,  many  of  them, 
the  first  being  his  noble  kinswoman, 
Ulayieh,  relict  of  his  cousin  Mirza,  the 
same  devoted  lady  who  had  prayed  to 
be  buried  alive  with  her  departed  lord, 
and  who,  when  she  was  cruelly  denied, 
would  fain  have  slept  on  his  grave  but 
that  her  family  physician  forbade  her 
to  breathe  the  night  air. 

After  that  the  monarch  refused  to 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        25 

see  any  more  candidates,  whom  he 
turned  over  to  the  stern  celibate  Bel- 
Abba.  That  discriminating  minister 
was  intrusted,  moreover,  with  the  read 
ing  of  the  royal  mail.  He  diligently 
opened  no  fewer  than  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  tender  missives 
containing,  besides  postage-stamps,  the 
most  ardent  declarations  of  loyal  devo 
tion.  How  many  more  such  epistles 
might  have  come,  no  one  knoweth ;  but, 
happily,  further  correspondence  was 
averted  by  the  appearance,  on  the 
fourth  day,  of  a  sumptuous  cavalcade 
accompanying  the  renowned  Princess 
Ijeyah,  of  Ispahan,  the  fame  of  whose 
beauty  and  intellect  made  all  other  as 
pirants  despair  when  it  became  known 
that  she  was  not  averse  from  listening 
to  the  suit  of  Gallimatia's  lord  and  king. 
If  the  king  himself  could  have  hesitated 
at  the  thought  of  such  a  lofty  alliance, 
all  his  doubts  were  dispelled  when  he 
learned  that  Princess  Ijeyah  was  not 


26         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

only  a  strict  vegetarian,  but  that  she 
ascribed  her  marvellous  health  and 
physique  to  that  fact  and  to  her  rigid 
system  of  physical  culture.  He  suc 
cumbed  at  once. 

He  did  more.  He  told  her  of  the 
curse. 

She  laughed  disdainfully.  "  Such 
fears,"  she  said,  "are  for  minds  made 
gross  by  irrational  diet,  and  nerves  not 
attuned  to  physical  perfection." 

The  annals  of  the  time  treat  rather 
vaguely  of  the  king's  second  marriage. 
Bel-Abba  touches  lightly  on  the  fact 
that  a  large  army  of  observation  ac 
companied  the  cavalcade  of  the  prin 
cess  as  far  as  the  Gallimatian  frontier, 
remaining  there  until  after  the  nuptials 
had  taken  place,  thence  making  a  de 
tour  and  descending  suddenly  on  the 
borders  of  Shiraz.  The  Emperor  of 
Ispahan  is  known  to  have  been  a  war 
like  and  ambitious  ruler;  but  whether 
or  not  he  had  contemplated  any  hostile 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        27 

movement  against  Gallimatia  in  the 
event  of  a  misunderstanding  on  the 
subject  of  matrimony  is  left  in  obscu 
rity.  The  marriage  was  probably  semi- 
political  in  its  nature,  and  would  have 
doubtless  resulted  in  the  perfect  bliss 
which  attends  such  alliances  but  for  the 
sad  misadventure  that  befell  the  fiery 
Emperor  Skerrappa,  across  the  borders 
of  Shiraz.  There  he  encountered  such 
unexpected  resistance  that  he  was  forced 
to  return  to  Ispahan  with  half  of  his 
forces.  The  other  half  remained  where 
they  fell. 

This  untoward  event,  coupled  with 
Queen  Ijeyah's  survival  of  the  curse  and 
her  robustly  perfect  health,  which  had 
speedily  become  as  distasteful  as  Han- 
emia's  opposite  condition,  made  good 
King  Sap'ed  more  than  ever  convinced 
that  he  would  never  know  complete 
ease  of  mind  until  the  validity  of  the 
curse  were  decided  to  the  satisfaction 
of  his  morbidly  acute  conscience.  Like 


28         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

some  other  monarchs  in  similar  circum 
stances,  he  was  willing  to  sacrifice  him 
self  again  and  again  on  the  altar  of  duty, 
rather  than  fail  to  establish  the  truth. 
Happily  there  was  one  lady  in  whom 
he  believed  that  he  was  to  find  an  equal 
devotion  to  lofty  ideals,  a  scrupulous 
regard  for  absolute  verity,  and  a  pains 
taking  zeal  for  the  promulgation  of  both, 
which  was  beyond  all  praise.  She  was 
further  favored  with  a  comely  presence 
and  a  winning  directness,  which  were 
but  faintly  indicated  in  her  euphonious 
name,  Kandora. 


Queen  Kandora's   Wisdom 
Makes  War  Welcome 

Misfortune  sometimes  gives  us  clear 
est  vision.  An  ingenuous  young  girl 
was  carrying  home  twin  flasks  of  rare 
perfumery  from  the  bazaar,  when  one 
of  them  fell  and  was  broken  to  pieces. 
Thereupon  the  girl  wept  bitterly,  say 
ing,  "  I  should  not  be  so  sorry  were  it  mine  own, 
but  that  flask  was  my  mother's."  "  How  couldst 
thou  distinguish  one  from  the  other?"  inquired  a 
sympathetic  by-stander.  "  I  could  not,"  sobbed 
the  sweet  child,  "  until  it  was  broken. " — Ka- 
yenna  of  Ubikwi. 

UEEN  KANDORA,  for  such  she 
became  as  soon  as  the  enamoured 
monarch  could  induce  her  to  ac 
cept  the   offer  of  his  hand  and 
heart,  the  which   she  delicately 
declined    to    do   until   a   decent   inter 
val  of  several  weeks  had  elapsed  after 
29 


30        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

the  unfortunate  nuptials  of  Queen  Ije- 
yah,  was  such  a  mirror  of  all  the  conju 
gal  virtues  that  this  chronicler  feels  the 
impossibility  of  his  doing  justice  to  her 
and  them  in  the  dry  pages  of  history. 

It  is  more  becoming  the  subject  to 
borrow  from  the  fascinating  pages  of 
Bel-Abba,  his  famous  Memoirs  of  the 
Court  of  King  Sap'ed,  in  seventeen  vol 
umes  octavo.  Dwelling  eloquently  on 
the  domestic  life  of  the  monarch  and 
his  gifted  consort  at  this  period,  he 
says: 

"This  virtuous  matron  proved  herself 
more  than  a  mere  handmaiden  to  the 
great  king ;  nor  was  she,  save  rarely, 
absent  from  the  cultivated  mind  of  his 
revered  mother.  To  both  of  them  she 
was  a  lamp  for  their  eyes  and  a  guide 
for  their  footsteps.  Did  his  Majesty 
ever  diverge,  even  by  a  hair's-breadth, 
from  the  exactest  rectitude  of  speech— 
for  of  irregularity  in  action  or  intent  he 
was  utterly  incapable — her  fond  hand  it 


' "  She  was  a  lamp  for  their  eyes  and  a  guide  for  their  footsteps 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        31 

was  that  metaphorically  drew  the  bridle 
of  his  wandering  imagination  back  to 
the  straight  road  of  accuracy. 

"  Thus,  were  he  to  mention  anything 
which  in  other  eyes  might  seem  of  little 
importance,  such  as,  'We  were  attend 
ing  the  mosque  last  Friday,'  forthwith 
she  would  interpose  with  a  sweet  smile, 
born  of  truth,  '  Pardon,  my  lord,  but 
thou  meanest  Thursday,  love,  dost  not?' 
Thereat  the  king  was  wont  at  first  to 
laugh  amusedly  and  say,  '  Be  chesm, 
our  spouse  is  right  and  wisely  maketh 
us  so.'  Encouraged  alike  by  the  praise 
of  her  lord  and  the  approval  of  her  con 
science,  she  hesitated  not  to  correct  all 
similar  lapses  on  his  part,  until  he  came 
in  time  to  cultivate  reticence  of  speech 
in  order  to  spare  her  the  trouble  of  re 
pairing  his  many  errors." 

Bel- Abba  himself  was  so  conscientious 
a  word-painter  of  history  that  he  here 
interpolates  a  brief  dialogue  between 
the  royal  pair,  which  is  interesting,  as 


32         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

being  so  different  from  anything  in  the 
married  reader's  own  experience: 

"  The  king  was  one  day  narrating  the 
story  of  the  great  battle  in  which  he  had 
won  his  spurs. 

"'It  was  the  seventh  day  of  the 
month  of  Rabjah,'  began  his  Majesty. 

'  The  seventh,  love  ?  I  think  you 
said  last  time  that  it  was  the  sixth.' 

"  'So  it  was.  I  thank  thee,'  said  the 
king.  'It  was,  then,  the  sixth  day  of 
the  month  of  Rabjah.' 

"  'Art  sure  it  was  Rabjah,  pet?  Me- 
thinks  the  annals  say  Sha'ban.' 

'  Right  thou  art  again,'  assented  the 
king.  'Sha'ban  it  was,  and  I  remem 
ber  distinctly  that  mine  honored  sire 
was  reviewing  his  troops — 

'  Pardon  again,  sweetest.  Was  it 
not  thy  grandsire?' 

"'Why,  of  course,  it  was.  What 
could  I  have  been  thinking  of?  Well, 
my  grandsire,  as  I  have  said,  was  re 
viewing  his  troops — 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        33 

"'Not  his  troops,  darling,  that  day. 
His  fleet,  was  it  not?' 

' ' '  Said  I  his  troops  ?  I  meant  his  fleet. 
Thanks  for  the  correction.  He  was  re 
viewing  his  fleet,  just  before  its  depart 
ure  for — 

"'Excuse  me,  angel,  its  return,  you 
mean.' 

'"Its  return,  certainly.  Did  I  say  de 
parture  ?  I  recollect  what  a  grand  pict 
ure  the  galleys  made  as  they  swung  at 
anchor.' 

"'At  anchor,  precious?  Were  they 
not  moored  at  the  battery  pier,  as 
usual?' 

' ' '  Moored  ?  So  they  were,  sure  enough, 
so  that  they  might  lose  no  time  in  get 
ting  up  steam — 

"'But,  my  soul's  idol,  thou  knowest 
that  the  South  Himalayan  squadron 
was  not  equipped  with  steam  at  that 
time.  Thou  wilt  pardon  my  ignorance 
of  military  matters,  angel,  but  I  do 
know  a  little  about  the  navy.  My  be- 


34         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

loved  father  used  to  call  me  his  little 
commodore,  I  was  so  fond  of  going  on 
board  the  ships  in  his  command  when 
they  were  in  port.  Indeed,  I  may  say 
that  it  was  my  favorite  playground  and 
my  school.  Even  when  I  was  the  lit 
tlest  of  tots,  the  sailors  loved  to  take  me 
all  over  the  ships.  They  made  me  a 
lovely  little  uniform,  and  I  remember 
one  time— 

"Here,"  says  Bel- Abba,  "by  a  sad 
oversight,  the  narrative  of  his  Majesty 
was  totally  diverted  from  its  course, 
while  his  charming  spouse  furnished 
forth  an  hour's  delectable  feast  of  in 
nocent  autobiography,  highly  instruc 
tive  beyond  perad venture,  but  hardly 
suited  to  the  more  sober  pages  of  his 
tory." 

If  the  words  of  the  historian  appear 
to  be  slightly  tinged  with  jealousy,  he 
was  not  alone  in  that  feeling.  The  rest 
of  the  court  admired  the  wealth  and 
variety  of  her  precise  knowledge  on  all 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        35 

themes,  but  the  lighter  -  minded  were 
overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  their  own 
inferiority  and  loved  her  more  in  repose. 

Yet  was  she  quick  to  grasp  an  emer 
gency,  as  she  was  eloquent  in  directing 
the  conduct  of  others.  A  little  incident 
chronicled  by  the  faithful  historian  il 
lustrates  this  trait.  One  morning  the 
head  gardener  came  to  her  with  the 
sad  news  that  he  had  found  the  body 
of  Bacalli,  the  queen-mother's  favorite 
tortoise-shell.  "It  hath  been  lying," 
he  said,  "  in  the  shrubbery  beneath  your 
Majesty's  window,  the  last  two  nights." 
Touched  with  an  emotion  too  deep  for 
silence,  Kandora  thanked  the  worthy 
man,  and  in  faltering  accents  said,  "Go, 
bear  it  tenderly  hence." 

"  But  whither  shall  I  take  it,  your 
Majesty?"  he  asked. 

"Take  it,"  she  said,  after  a  moment's 
reflection,  "and  lay  it  in  the  shrubbery 
under  the  window  of  her  grace,  Queen 
Hanemia,  for" — here  the  brave  accents 


36         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

trembled  a  little — "for  she,  too,  loved 
poor  Bacalli." 

As  the  astute  reader  will  have  already 
divined,  the  good  king  had  not  been 
robbed  by  death  of  the  third  trusting 
heart  whose  owner  had  carried  her  life 
in  her  fair  hand  when  endowing  him 
with  the  latter.  On  the  one  hand  he 
had  trustful  dependence,  represented  by 
the  fragile  Hanemia;  on  the  other,  ro 
bust  reliance  was  personified  in  the 
vigorous  Ijeyahjon  the  third — but  the 
worthy  monarch  possessed  but  two 
hands,  and  he  was  soon  to  find  them 
both  full  of  other  business  than  that 
of  courtly  dalliance.  Out  of  the  clear 
skies  of  tranquillity  came,  sharp  and 
sudden,  the  awful  thunderbolt  of  war. 

The  king  had  not  sought  this  war, 
but  he  was  not  the  man  to  shun  it,  or 
any  other,  which  promised  to  be  neither 
unreasonably  expensive  nor  unpleasant 
ly  bloody.  It  was,  rather,  one  of  those 
welcome  diversions  often  supplied  by  a 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        37 

kind  fate,  whereby  a  prudent  ruler  is 
enabled  to  confound  the  machinations 
of  an  unruly  opposition,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  furnishes  occasion  for  re 
warding  faithful  followers  and  punish 
ing  refractory  opponents  at  the  public 
expense. 

King  Sap'ed  was  not  one  of  the  con 
scienceless  despots  who  would  pick  a 
needless  quarrel  with  a  greater  power 
for  the  mere  gratification  of  warlike  am 
bition.  Neither  was  he  one  who  would 
inflict  the  horrors  of  war  upon  a  weaker 
neighbor;  because,  under  the  benign 
rule  of  his  sires,  all  such  neighbors  had 
been  assimilated  by  the  empire  long 
since,  for  their  own  good. 

But  he  did  relish  a  short,  sharp,  and 
decisive  campaign,  with  enough  of  un 
certainty  about  its  inception  to  justify 
a  reasonable  increase  in  tax  levies  and  a 
prospect  of  glory  and  honors  for  de 
serving  and  well-connected  young  men 
averse  from  labor. 


38        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

It  saved  the  government  much  pre 
liminary  explanation  when  tidings  came 
to  the  capital  that  the  first  shot  had  been 
fired  by  the  enemy. 


IV 


The   Terrible  Battle   of 
Roota-Baaga 

The  only  just  war  is  that  which 
bringeth  happiness  and  profit  to  all 
concerned  in  it.  Such  a  war  is  fitly 
commemorated  by  a  stately  obelisk 
of  which  each  end  is  the  top.  —  El 
Bendah,  the  Elder. 

HE  alarm  was  brought  in  by 
a  goatherd  of  Roota-Baaga. 
He  had  been  tending  his  flock 
on  the  little  promontory  near  the 
harbor  mouth  when  he  caught 
sight  of  a  fishing -boat  half  a  league 
out  in  the  bay.  The  fisherman  sig 
nalled  to  him  wildly,  as  his  craft 
drove  in  towards  the  beach.  He  ran 
down  to  the  strand  ;  but  the  fisher 
man,  as  he  drew  nearer,  stood  up  and 
pointed  with  frantic  gesticulations  sea- 
39 


40         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ward.  The  goatherd  followed  with  his 
eyes  and  made  out  a  little  haze  of  smoke 
on  the  horizon. 

Precious  minutes  were  wasted  ere  the 
boatman  could  make  him  understand; 
but  three  words  were  enough  to  drive 
the  blood  from  the  listener's  cheek  and 
send  him  running  at  full  speed  towards 
the  little  village.  Those  words,  shouted 
in  a  frenzy  of  fear,  were,  "The  Helping 
Hand!" 

It  was  enough.  The  goatherd  had 
only  to  repeat  them  to  the  first  villagers 
he  met.  As  you  have  seen  the  van 
guard  of  the  sea-mist  ride  shoreward, 
widening  its  ranks  as  it  came,  rising, 
spreading,  enveloping  everything  in  its 
chill  mantle,  so  Fear  rode  down  on 
Roota-Baaga. 

The  handful  of  soldiers  hastened  to  the 
fort  and  trained  the  half-obsolete  guns 
on  the  narrow  harbor  mouth.  They 
had  no  hope  of  withstanding  the  enemy ; 
but  it  is  a  soldier's  duty  to  resist,  or,  at 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        41 

least,  to  make  a  show  of  resisting. 
They  coiild  and  would  strike  their  colors 
at  the  first  shot,  and  all  the  village  knew 
it.  The  civilian  folk  hastened  to  hide 
their  scanty  treasures,  and  prepared  for 
flight  to  the  hills.  Mothers  who  had 
been  wont  to  still  their  unruly  offspring 
with  threats  of  giving  them  over  to 
the  Helping  Hand,  now  clasped  their 
children  to  their  bosoms  in  real  agony 
and  trembled  lest  the  terrible  foe  might 
grasp  them  ere  they  could  find  shelter 
in  the  mountain  caves. 

The  cadi,  whom  the  unwelcome  news 
had  aroused  from  his  siesta,  sent  forth 
with  for  the  captain  of  Janizaries,  a 
European  renegade,  who  might  be  sup 
posed  to  know  something  about  the 
dread  visitor. 

As  it  happened,  his  knowledge  was 
like  that  of  his  neighbors,  founded  only 
on  hearsay. 

By  this  time  an  hour  had  elapsed,  and 
the  strange  craft  was  easily  made  out, 


42         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

only  a  league  or  a  league  and  a  half  from 
the  harbor  mouth,  for  which  she  was 
steering  straight.  As  yet  she  had  dis 
played  no  colors  except  a  red  pennant  at 
the  fore  and  an  indistinguishable  broad 
jack  at  the  main. 

"  I  cannot  make  out  her  colors,"  said 
the  renegado,  slowly,  after  a  long  gaze, 
"but  her  whole  outfit  is  that  of  a  ship  of 
war.  I  fear  me  much  it  is  the  Helping 
Hand.  She  has  been  cruising  in  these 
waters  of  late,  after  her  performances  in 
the  China  seas,  and  I  have  little  hope 
but  that  her  mission  is  civilizing." 

Up  flew  the  king's  banner  over  the 
fort,  and  the  loud  boom  of  a  gun  chal 
lenged  the  stranger.  The  little  group 
around  the  cadi  waited  one  breathless 
moment ;  then,  with  a  roar  that  shook 
the  hill  and  reverberated  among  the  dis 
tant  mountains,  a  broadside  made  reply. 

When  the  smoke  rolled  away  they 
could  see  a  cloud  of  dust  where  the  fort 
had  been.  Bastion,  rampart,  and  cita- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        43 

del  were  tumbled  into  a  heap  of  smoking 
ruins,  and  the  royal  standard  had  fallen. 

The  war-ship  steamed  slowly  in,  as 
disdaining  further  effort,  and  presently 
her  ponderous  anchor  dropped  with  a 
roar  of  chain-cable. 

The  few  civilians  who  had  lingered 
now  began  to  mount  their  camels  and 
donkeys  for  flight.  The  cadi  had  his 
foot  on  the  stirrup  when  he  was  arrested 
by  the  hand  of  the  captain  on  his  sleeve. 

"Wait  a  minute,"  said  that  grizzled 
veteran.  ' '  When  I  was  still  in  the  dark 
ness  of  civilization,  or  ever  the  wise  Al 
Choppah  and  his  trusty  scimitar  showed 
me  the  blessed  pathway  of  truth,  it  was 
not  the  fashion  among  those  blinded 
infidels  to  use  force  for  conversion.  But 
I  am  told  it  is  different  now,  though  I 
am  also  told  that  they  are  not  unwill 
ing  to  listen  to  reason  and  to  compro 
mise  on  a  seaport  or  sphere  of  influence. 
Am  I  right  or  not,  Yang- Whang?"  he 
continued,  addressing  an  aged  traveller 


44         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

who  had  come  to  Roota-Baaga  from 
distant  China  many  moons  before. 

"Truly  thou  art  right,  in  part,"  re 
plied  Yang- Whang;  " or  so  it  was  in  my 
country  ere  kind  fortune  sent  me  hither 
to  seek  the  freedom  of  which  the  Foreign 
Devils'  God  of  Progress  had  deprived  us 
at  home.  Unless  they  have  changed 
once  again,  I  believe  that  they  will  be 
willing  to  settle  on  the  usual  terms  of 
indemnity — thirteen  fold . ' ' 

"Indemnity?"  queried  the  cadi,  who 
was  but  imperfectly  acquainted  with  the 
blessings  of  civilization.  Indemnity 
means  compensation,  fine — does  it  not? 
Why  should  we  pay  backsheesh,  who 
have  done  no  wrong?" 

"It  is  not  necessary  to  have  done 
wrong  to  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  priv 
ilege  of  paying  indemnity,"  said  the  cap 
tain.  ''It  is  enough,  under  the  sacred 
law  of  nations,  to  have  the  wherewithal 
to  pay.  Even  the  Bedouins  do  not  rob 
the  penniless.  But  see,  they  are  lower- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        45 

ing  a  boat,  and  it  is  coming  to  shore. 
It  were  wiser  for  us  to  go  and  meet 
them.  Should  the  worst  come  to  the 
worst,"  he  added,  aside,  "a  man  of 
sense  can  transfer  his  allegiance  once 
more,  if  needs  be;  but  nobody  can  re 
vive  a  corpse." 

Fortified  with  this  consoling  reflec 
tion,  he  led  the  way  to  the  shore,  where 
already  the  boat's  crew  were  disem 
barking,  their  leader — a  tall,  black- 
haired,  sun -browned  man  —  being  the 
first  to  land. 

It  was  the  captain  of  the  ship.  He 
stood  a  little  in  front  of  his  crew,  who 
were  heavily  armed  and  evidently  pre 
pared  to  meet  hostility  with  a  cheerful 
front. 

The  cadi  prostrated  himself  at  the 
feet  of  the  stranger,  but  the  captain  of 
Janizaries  held  himself  erect  and  bowed 
with  formal  politeness. 

"  I  would  speak  with  the  chief  man  of 
this  village,"  said  the  stranger,  haugh- 


46         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

tily.  "Does  anybody  here  understand 
English?" 

"  I  do,  a  little,"  answered  the  rene- 
gado,  advancing  a  step.  "  If  I  have  the 
honor  of  addressing  the  commander  of 
the  Helping  Hand,  I  hope  -we  may  be 
able  to  make  terms  for  the  ransom  of 
these  poor  people  without  utter  ruin  to 
them.  It  is  not  their  fault,"  he  added, 
earnestly,  "that  they  are  in  outer  dark 
ness  and  ignorant  of  the  truth — hair- 
hung  and  breeze-shaken,  as  it  were, 
over  the  bottomless  pit.  They  were 
born  so,  but  if  they  were  approached  in 
kindness — " 

The  stranger  first  stared  and  then 
laughed  boisterously.  "  By  all  the 
gods!"  he  cried  at  last,  "what  have 
we  here?  A  renegade  parson,  I  should 
say.  Who  are  you,  anyhow?  But  first, 
what  do  you  take  us  to  be?  Your  lan 
guage  is  a  trifle  mysterious." 

The  unsmiling  renegado  replied, 
gravely:  "I  take  you— the  good  people 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        47 

here  take  you — to  be  the  commander 
of  the  civilizing  ship  Helping  Hand,  late 
ly  engaged  in  the  good  work  of  uplifting 
and  upholding  in  the  Chinese  waters." 

The  stranger's  face  grew  dark.  "  And 
pray,  may  I  ask,  what  have  you  seen 
about  us  to  lead  you  to  that  inference?" 
he  sternly  asked. 

The  captain  flushed  uncomfortably. 
"Nothing,"  he  stammered;  "only  the 
foolish  people  all  said  so.  Then  you 
fired  on  the  fort,  and  then  the  red  pen 
non  on  your  mast — we  thought  you 
were  of  the  nation  whose  language  you 
speak,  and  the  Hand  has  been  reported 
cruising  in  these  waters." 

"Hark  ye,  friend,"  said  the  stranger, 
after  a  moment's  pause.  "You  will  do 
well  another  time  to  think  twice  ere  you 
make  rash  judgments  about  a  ship 
which  has  done  you  no  injury — as  yet," 
he  added,  thoughtfully.  "  Because  of 
your  unworthy  suspicions,  I  hold  it  a 
duty  which  I  owe  my  worthy  shipmates 


48        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

to  exact  a  nominal  indemnity  for  it. 
Call  your  beggarly  guard  together — do 
you  hear  me,  sirrah  ? — and  pay  a  proper 
salute  to  the  flag  which  you  have  in 
sulted.  Ah !  look  at  it,"  he  cried,  proud 
ly,  as  a  puff  of  wind  lifted  and  blew 
straight  from  the  main  the  broad  folds 
of  a  banner  of  black  on  which  were  em 
blazoned  the  skull  and  cross-bones. 

The  renegado  turned  crimson  with 
shame  and  mortification.  "Pardon! 
pardon!"  he  choked  forth.  "To  think 
that  I  mistook  you  for  a  ship  of  peace, 
come  to  improve  our  social  condi 
tion!" 

The  pirate  captain,  impressed  with 
his  manifest  contrition,  took  his  hand 
and  said:  "Enough!  Maybe  the  mis 
take  was  natural,  so  I  forgive  your 
stupid  villagers.  There  is  another  mat 
ter  for  consideration.  I  have  on  board 
my  ship  a  maiden  and  her  mother  whom 
we  rescued  from  a  foreign  vessel,  which, 
I  trust,  was  fully  insured  ere  she  met  us. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        49 

It  is  her  desire  to  be  landed,  with  her 
belongings,  and  I  am  willing  to  comply 
with  her  wishes.  What  may  become 
of  her  afterwards  is  her  own  look 
out." 

Without  waiting  for  an  answer,  he 
turned  and  spoke  to  one  of  his  men,  who 
thereupon  began  signalling  with  a  hand 
kerchief  to  the  ship.  A  small  gig  was 
lowered  from  the  side,  and  presently  it 
was  speeding  shoreward  with  two  fe 
males  and  a  pile  of  luggage  as  its 
freight. 

Five  minutes  later  the  pirate  captain 
gallantly  handed  them  ashore,  and  for  a 
moment  talked  earnestly,  in  a  low  tone, 
with  the  younger  of  the  two.  Then, 
turning  to  the  still  prostrate  cadi,  he 
said :  "  Get  up,  old  man.  You  will  have 
to  excuse  a  short  visit  this  time.  I  will 
call  again.  Meanwhile  I  leave  these 
females  in  your  care.  See  that  they  are 
well  treated  and  given  everything  they 
wish.  Beyond  that,  they  will  require 


50         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

nothing.  And,  by-the-way,  when  you 
rebuild  that  fort  yonder,  don't  advertise 
its  existence  by  putting  any  guns  on  it. 
But  for  them  we  should  never  have 
known  it  was  a  fort." 

The  captain  of  Janizaries  bit  his  lip, 
but  bowed  politely  once  more  as  the 
pirate  saluted  and  stepped  into  his 
launch.  The  oars  flashed  in  the  sun, 
the  boat  was  soon  swung  on  board,  the 
anchor  hoisted  apeak,  and  the  terrible 
Olive  Branch — for  such  was  her  name — 
was  again  churning  the  placid  waters  of 
the  Libyan  Gulf  as  she  sped  seaward 
in  search  of  further  diversion. 

The  cadi,  resuming  his  dignity,  gave 
a  vicious  kick  to  the  Chinese  pilgrim. 
"It  was  thou,  dog,"  he  said,  "who 
didst  frighten  these  cowards  with  a 
story  of  a  Helping  Hand.  By  Allah !  I 
have  a  mind  to  bastinado  thee." 

Here  the  younger  female  approached 
and  handed  him  a  pasteboard  card.  He 
took  it,  glanced  mechanically  at  the  in- 


" '  /  leave  these  females  in  your  care ' 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        51 

scription,  and  passed  it  to  the  captain, 
who  read  aloud: 


MISS  DAZEE 

OCCULTIST 

Hours  9  to  g.     Don't  ring. 


"  Well,"  he  said,  as  he  handed  it  back 
to  her  with  a  bow,  "  you  will  find  plenty 
of  business  here  for  an  oculist,  but  I 
doubt  if  the  pay  is  very  good  or  sure." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  Miss 
Dazee,  with  some  asperity  of  tone.  "  I 
am  not  a  doctor  of  the  eyes,  but  of  the 
mind — an  occultist,  at  your  service." 


V 


Dazee  Comes  to  Babosa 

Poverty  hath  its  compensations. 
A  tattered  suit  is  as  good  as  an  invis 
ible  cloak  to  conceal  its  wearer  from 
the  friends  of  his  prosperity.  —  Say 
ings  of  Ben  Haround. 


SYMPATHETIC  something,  more  in 
stinctive   than  reasoning,  drew  to 
gether   the    grizzled   renegade   and 
the    fair    stranger.     It    may    have 
been   the   kindred   feeling   born  of 
such  a  meeting  between  two  exiles 
under  an  alien  sky.     It  may  have  been 
the  emotion  with  which  one  is  stirred 
on  hearing  the  common  tongue  spoken 
where  it  is  not  too  common.     It  could 
not  have  been  a  sudden  recognition  of 
the  thrilling  fact  that  blood  is  thicker 
than  water ;  for  that  never  develops  be- 
52 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        53 

fore  dinner,  and  they  were  not  ban 
queting. 

Whatever  the  cause,  it  awakened  a 
more  than  passing  feeling  of  kinship  in 
both.  Miss  Dazee,  remembering  the 
cardinal  rule  of  American  etiquette — to 
"introduce"  everybody  to  every  other 
body  in  sight  —  hastened  to  fulfil  it. 
"Allow  me,  general,  to  make  you  ac 
quainted  with  my  mother,  Miss  Muriel 
Fitz  Clarence.  Mother,  this  is  Gener 
al—" 

In  response  to  the  unspoken  inquiry, 
the  doughty  soldier  could  only  mutter : 
"Mackintosh — Macpherson-Mackintosh, 
at  your  service,  ladies,  but,  I  regret 
to  say,  not  yet  a  general."  Whereat 
ensued  laughing  explanations,  during 
which  the  captain  learned  that,  in  the 
present  case,  "Miss"  was  not  an  Amer 
ican  synonym  for  "Mrs."  "You  see," 
said  the  younger  lady,  "she  is  not  my 
real,  truly  mother,  but  a  young  lady  has 
to  have  a  mother  if  she  goes  travelling 

4 


54         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

around  here;  and  so  I  got  Hattie — I 
mean  Miss  Muriel  Fitz  Clarence  —  to 
take  a  year  off  and  do  straight  business 
for  me.  We  were  all  one  season  to 
gether  on  the  stage — one-night  stands, 
mostly — but  we  got  along  first-rate.  I 
call  her  my  property  mother,  between 
ourselves,  but  you  won't  give  us  away, 
will  you?"  And  after  he  had  the  re 
quest  elaborately  explained  to  him,  he 
promised  that  he  would  not.  The 
young  American  voted  him  a  delightful 
conversationalist,  "when  the  diagrams 
were  not  too  intricate." 

"I  am  sorry,"  said  the  captaiia,  po 
litely  but  ruefully,  "that  you  did  not 
arrive  at  a  more  auspicious  time.  The 
people  will  be  in  no  welcoming  mood 
when  they  hear  of  this  day's  shameful 
defeat."  Miss  Dazee  looked  at  him  for 
a  moment  with  wide  eyes.  Then  she 
laughed  loud  and  long,  and  melodiously 
withal,  as  the  tinkling  chimes  on  the 
neck  of  the  ship  of  the  desert. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        55 

"Excuse  me,"  she  said  at  last,  "but 
you  are  innocent.  Why  do  you  call  this 
a  day  of  defeat?" 

The  captain  gazed  gloomily  from  under 

buckled  eyebrows,  and,  by  way  of  sole 

*  answer,   waved  his  hand  towards  the 

ruins  of  the  fort  at  the  harbor  mouth. 

"Oh,  descend  from  thy  pedestal!" 
she  exclaimed,  impatiently.  "What 
stupidity  is  this?  And  who,  prithee,  is 
to  report  this  glorious  victory  as  a  de 
feat,  forsooth?" 

"Why,  I  must,"  said  the  puzzled 
warrior,  who,  while  none  too  honest,  yet 
lacked  somewhat  in  imagination. 

"  Well,  of  all  the-  Why,  where  did 
you  ever  study  the  art  of  war?  Oh,  you 
are  too  young  and  beautiful  for  this  cold 
world.  But  I  like  you.  Let  me  tell 
you  what  really  happened  to-day,  and 
you  write  it  down  in  your  tablets. 
Ready?  Go!  Write  as  follows  to  the 
boss  Muck-a-muck,  or  whatever  you 
style  him :  '  I  beg  to  state  that  the  pow- 


56         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

erful  corsair  cruiser  Olive  Branch  has  es 
caped,  though  badly  disabled,  after  a 
severe  engagement  of  half  an  hour's  du 
ration  with  the  royal  fort  at  the  mouth 
of  this  harbor.  The  desperate  ruffian 
attacked  us  without  warning  and  sue- 
ceeded  in  inflicting  some  damage  on  the 
fort,  landing  a  heavy  force  of  sailors 
and  troops  near  the  citadel.  Our  gal 
lant  soldiers  quickly  engaged  them  and 
drove  them  off  with  great  slaughter, 
Having,  unhappily,  no  boats  at  hand, 
we  were  unable  to  pursue  them,  and 
they  escaped  to  their  ship,  carrying  off 
their  dead  and  wounded,  which  were 
many.  We  estimate  that  they  lost  not 
less  than  fifty  of  the  former  and  a  hun 
dred  of  the  latter.  Our  troops  escaped 
with  a  loss  of  three  killed  and  five 
wounded."1 

"  But,"  interposed  the  wondering  sol 
dier,  "we  have  not  lost  any  at  all." 

"And  do  you  intend  to  tell  that  silly 
story  to  the  War  Office  ?  Are  there  not 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        57 

i 
a  few  knaves  in  your  command  who 

ought  to  have  been  killed?" 

"Oh,  plenty  of  them,  if  it  comes  to 
that." 

"Well,  let  it  come  to  that,"  replied 
Dazee,  with  some  sharpness.  "And 
pick  them  out  soon,  too.  You  fatigue 
me." 

The  renegade  surveyed  his  troop,  and 
by  the  expression  of  his  countenance  it 
could  be  seen  that  he  had  an  embarrass 
ment  of  riches  on  his  hands.  He  mut 
tered,  half  audibly:  "There's  Ibrahim. 
He's  half  a  Hebrew,  and  I  owe  him  a 
thousand  sequins;  and  Hafiz  has  been 
owing  me  a  thousand  long  enough. 
Rustam  was  impudent  to  me  last  week. 
Firdusi  is  a  forward  youth  and  aspires 
to  be  captain.  Yezid  is  altogether  too 
attentive  to  the  rich  widow  who  used  to 
smile  upon  me  ere  he  came.  Ismail, 
Mahmoud,  Kaled — I  think  that  will  do." 
He  beckoned  to  a  subordinate  and  whis 
pered  a  few  words.  Then,  with  a  sigh 


58         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

of  relief,  he  said,  gravely:  "I  think  we 
shall  have  no  wounded.  Invalids  are 
always  talkative  and  indiscreet.  Please 
go  on  with  the  dictation." 

Dazee,  glad  to  find  the  commandei 
so  amenable  to  reason,  continued:  '"I 
recommend  especially  the  cadi  Jamzeh 
for  signal  gallantry  in  the  field,  and  re 
spectfully  suggest  that  he  be  promoted.' 
That  will  make  you  solid  with  the  old 
party,  if  I  caught  his  name  rightly,  and 
he  will  swear  to  anything  you  say," 
added  the  maiden,  with  a  knowing  smile 
and  a  coquettish  droop  of  the  left  eye 
lid.  "  Add :  '  Should  we  need  reinforce 
ments,  I  will  despatch  a  courier.  But 
I  am  satisfied  that  the  gallant  troops 
under  my  command,  all  of  whom  per 
formed  prodigies  of  valor' — that  will 
square  you  with  the  scarecrows  here — 
'will  hold  the  town  against  all  comers 
or  die  in  their  tracks  upholding  the 
stainless  honor  of  the  Gallimatian  flag. 
I  am  suffering  from  a  severe  gunshot 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        59 

wound,  but  able  to  fight  while  life  lasts, 
and  write  this  hasty  scrawl  from  my 
saddle.'" 

Dazee  took  the  tablets  from  his  hand 
and  began  to  read : '"  I  regret  to  state ' — 
I  did  not  say  that.  I  said, '  I  beg  to 
state.'" 

The  veteran  blushed  painfully.  "  Par 
don  me,  madam,  force  of  old  habit.  I 
did  not  always  belong  to  this  ser 
vice." 

The  news  of  the  great  victory  of 
Roota-Baaga  reached  the  capital  in  due 
time,  and  great  was  the  joy  thereat.  A 
project  was  immediately  broached  to 
erect  a  stately  monument  to  the  heroes 
who  had  fallen  for  their  flag  and  coun 
try.  The  first  lord  of  the  treasury 
headed  it  with  an  offer  of  one  hundred 
thousand  piasters,  on  condition  that  an 
equal  amount  should  be  subscribed  by 
each  of  one  hundred  thousand  other  pa 
triots.  He  was  a  warm-hearted,  im 
pulsive  man,  and  much  pained  when  he 


60        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

found  that  his  offer  was  not  taken  up 
with  sufficient  enthusiasm  to  make  the 
movement  successful.  The  wound  to 
his  national  pride  brought  on  a  fit  of 
despondency  which  so  preyed  upon  him 
that  his  mind  and  accounts  became  un 
settled,  and  one  day  he  departed  from 
his  unappreciative  country,  leaving  an 
aching  void  and  no  other  assets  behind 
him. 

But  long  ere  that  sad  event  occurred, 
the  victory  of  Roota-Baaga  had  been 
celebrated,  and  even  the  heroes  had  been 
rewarded,  feted,  kissed,  and  court-mar- 
tialled  into  undeserved  oblivion.  Only 
remained  long,  lingering  law  -  suits 
brought  against  their  heirs  by  the  heirs 
of  the  generous  people  who  had  present 
ed  them  with  houses  and  horses  and 
government  bonds  and  assessable  shares 
in  promising  but  non-productive  in 
vestments. 

It  was  while  the  heroic  captain  was 
enjoying  the  full  flush  of  his  popularity 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        61 

that  the  beautiful  Dazee  was  first  intro 
duced  by  him  at  the  capital.  As  the 
protegee  of  such  an  illustrious  warrior, 
she  would  have  won  favor  in  any  quar 
ter.  The  Court  Journal,  with  infinite 
delicacy,  hinted  that  it  would  be  a  poet 
ical  and  graceful  ending  to  a  thrilling 
romance  if  his  Majesty  would  graciously 
bestow  the  hand  of  beauty  on  her  gallant 
savior.  His  Majesty,  who  had  heard  of 
the  fair  stranger  and  had  other  designs 
for  her,  signified  his  disapproval  of  such 
an  unwarranted  intrusion  on  the  private 
affairs  of  his  distinguished  servant  by 
ordering  the  editor  to  be  reprimanded, 
which  was  done  as  delicately  as  possible 
with  a  broad-axe.  His  Majesty  jealously 
guarded  the  freedom  of  the  press,  save 
in  the  rare  cases  when  a  brutal  and 
licentious  journalist  abused  his  lofty 
mission  by  expressing  unhallowed  sen 
timents  not  in  consonance  with  those 
held  by  his  Majesty  and  all  good  men. 
The  valiant  old  soldier  himself  was 


62        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

prompt  to  repudiate  the  editor's  sug 
gestion,  as  well  as  the  bill  which  was 
sent  in  to  him  for  the  publication 
thereof. 


Dazee  Comforteth  the  King 
with  a  Vision 


A  reformer  who  sought  to  moderate 
the  heat  of  the  sun  by  putting  his  ther 
mometer  on  ice,  said:  "Well  begun  is 
half  done.  I  have  cooled  the  thermom 
eter,  anyhow." — Wisdom  of  Shacabac. 

HE  people  of  Babosa,  the  capi 
tal,  were  not  like  the  inhab 
itants  of  our  own  favored  land,1 
although  they  had  many  of 
the  blessings  of  a  ripe  civ 
ilization.  They  were  extremely  fond 
of  novelty,  quick  to  adopt  and  grow 

1  NOTE  TO  PUBLISHERS. — In  preparing  editions 
of  this  history  for  the  use  of  schools,  here  insert 
the  name  of  the  country  in  which  the  book 
is  to  be  circulated,  as,  "our  own  favored  re 
public,"  "this  happy  kingdom,"  "divinely  or 
dained  despotism,"  or  "  Heaven  -  blessed  an 
archy,"  as  the  case  may  be. 

63 


64         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

weary  of  new  fashions,  reverential  of 
success  when  fully  achieved,  and  re 
spectful  of  art  and  literature  in  propor 
tion  to  their  commercial  merit.  Their 
periodical  publications  happily  com 
bined  the  newest  triumphs  in  both  fields, 
to  such  a  degree  that  the  whole  people 
may  be  said  to  have  reached  the  high 
est  stage  of  culture. 

The  advent  of  Dazee  had  not  passed 
unnoticed  by  the  special  correspondents 
from  the  seat  of  war.  Owing  to  the 
suddenness  of  the  attack  on  Roota- 
Baaga,  the  vigilant  vanguard  of  the 
press  would  not  have  been  able  to  fur 
nish  detailed  accounts  of  the  combat, 
from  personal  observation,  had  not 
Dazee  kindly  supplied  each  with  a  sep 
arate  and  individual  narrative,  all  vary 
ing  in  unimportant  matters  but  agree 
ing  as  to  essential  features. 

Nor  did  the  grateful  correspondents 
forget  to  weave  into  their  narratives  a 
part  of  the  romantic  story  of  the  inter- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        65 

esting  stranger.  That  she  was  of  the 
highest  social  rank  in  her  own  country 
beyond  the  Western  ocean ;  that  she  had 
been  abducted  by  pirates  for  political 
reasons,  and  would  have  been  held  as  a 
hostage  for  motives  of  state,  had  not  the 
brave  soldiers  of  Roota-Baaga  rescued 
her  from  a  terrible  fate,  were  facts 
which  the  maiden  confirmed,  while  dep 
recating  a  notoriety  distasteful  to  one 
who  preferred  to  pursue,  incognita,  the 
science  to  which  she  had  devoted  her 
life  and  talents. 

Shunning  fame  and  seeking  only  the 
truth,  she  had  come  to  the  far  Orient  to 
delve  in  its  priceless  mines  of  wisdom. 
In  return  she  modestly  offered  some 
grains  of  the  newer  science,  garnered  by 
long  meditation  and  study,  though  her 
years  on  earth  had  been  but  few,  as,  with 
emphatic  diffidence,  she  was  careful  to 
confess.  Nor  did  she  pursue  her  profes 
sion  for  mere  worldly  gain.  The  treas 
ures  of  her  mind  were  for  all.  They  in- 


66         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

eluded  the  newest  and  finest  assortment 
of  prognostications  and  horoscopes,  at 
merely  nominal  rates ;  a  selected  line  of 
cheirographs,  card  readings,  and  divina 
tions,  such  as  never  before  had  been  of 
fered  to  the  intelligent  public  of  Babosa, 
and  many  other  triumphs  of  astrological 
science,  open  for  inspection  to  any  and 
all. 

The  aged  proof-reader  on  the  Court 
Journal  shook  his  head  when  he  came 
to  this  passage,  saying  it  was  naught 
but  "a  plain  ad.,"  but  the  special  war 
correspondent,  who  had  brought  it  in, 
told  him  to  "mind  his  own  business"; 
and  as  no  mortal  hath  ever  denned  the 
metes  and  bounds  of  that  business,  the 
veteran  only  sighed,  and  for  the  ten- 
thousandth  time  envied  the  position  of 
Rakoff,  the  new  editor,  who  held  what 
the  profane  call  a  senapp,  or  sinecure, 
on  the  Journal. 

So,  prefaced  by  this  good  introduc 
tion,  Dazee  came  to  Babosa  and  to  the 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        67 

popularity  which  is  evanescent  but  not 
to  be  contemned.  Forthwith  the  folk 
forsook  their  former  favorites  and  fell  at 
the  feet  of  the  fair  foreigner. 

Then  did  the  old-established  prophets 
grow  envious  and  angry.  They  accused 
her  of  dealing  with  the  powers  of  Eblis, 
and  hinted  that  she  should  be  tried  as  a 
sorceress.  They  wrote  to  the  papers, 
and  Rakoff,  the  wily,  published  all  their 
letters.  He  was  among  the  first  sup 
porters  of  Dazee  and  the  Occidental  Cult 
of  Wisdom,  but  he  was  not  averse  from 
free  and  full  discussion,  as  he  nobly  de 
clared.  He  even  wrote  letters,  over  an 
assumed  name,  to  his  own  paper,  in 
which  he  intimated  that  the  stranger 
was  possessed  of  powers  so  marvellous 
that  there  was  grave  reason  for  suspect 
ing  collusion  with  the  spirits  of  evil. 

Strange  to  say,  this,  so  far  from 
frightening  away  the  credulous,  only 
made  them  flock  all  the  more  to  the 
mystic  shrine.  But  one  thing  more 


68         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

was  needed,  and  it  came  slowly,  as  usu 
al,  but  effectively.  Several  ambitious 
young  mollahs,  who  had  found  the 
Koran  rather  tedious  to  their  audiences, 
preached  sermons  against  the  Western 
maiden.  Then  they  closed  their  tem 
ples,  partly  for  much-needed  vacations, 
and  partly  because  their  congregations 
now  devoted  all  their  Fridays  to  attend 
ance  on  the  seances  of  Dazee. 

The  ladies  of  the  court,  all  save  the 
queen  -  mother,  had  long  since  visited 
the  seeress  and  come  away  believing 
and  wondering.  And  well  they  might ; 
for  to  Queen  Hanemia,  borne  thither  in 
a  palanquin,  she  had  prophesied  that, 
with  unwavering  faith  in  her  physician 
and  a  generous  diet,  accompanied  by  a 
regular  daily  draught  of  the  precious 
elixir  prescribed  by  Dazee,  the  invalid 
would  in  a  short  time  recover  perfect 
health  and  the  love  of  her  noble  lord. 

To  Queen  Ijeyah  she  gave  another 
phial  of  the  elixir,  a  course  of  vigorous 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        69 

exercise,  and  a  certain  promise  of  King 
Sap'ed's  devotion. 

Queen  Kandora  was  made  happy  on 
being  sharply  but  kindly  told  to  take 
more  interest  in  the  affairs  of  her  king 
and  court,  to  devote  herself  to  inculcat 
ing  habits  of  accuracy  and  punctuality, 
and  never  to  doubt  the  affection  of  her 
royal  consort. 

All  three  were  firmly  admonished 
against  the  fault  of  thinking  more  of  the 
welfare  of  others  than  of  their  own,  and 
warned  that  true  happiness  is  to  be 
found  only  by  the  thorny  path  of  unre 
mitting  attention  to  one's  own  interests. 

So  eloquently  did  they  all,  in  different 
strains,  laud  the  wisdom  and  discern 
ment  of  the  seeress,  that  King  Sap'ed 
resolved  to  see  for  himself.  "Per 
chance,"  he  mused,  "she  may  unravel 
the  mystery  of  the  genie's  curse,  and  ex 
plain  why  it  hath  failed — if,  indeed,  it 
hath.  Or  she,  mayhap,  can  tell  me  of 
one  who  truly  loveth  me  for  myself,  and 


70         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

whom  I  may  mourn  if  it  bring  her  early 
doom." 

Incidentally,  the  young  seeress  ac 
quired  much  knowledge  concerning  the 
affairs  of  the  people  of  Babosa,  high  and 
low ;  for  it  is  ever  the  way  of  the  seeker 
after  occult  lore  to  impart  many  details 
of  his  personal  history,  according  to  the 
words  of  the  Koran,  "not  necessarily 
for  publication,  but  as  a  guarantee  of 
good  faith."  The  chief  wife  of  the  min 
ister  of  war,  to  prove  her  own  discretion 
and  the  confidence  reposed  in  her  by  her 
lord,  showed  Dazee  all  the  reports,  dis 
graces,  and  so  forth  filed  in  the  archives 
of  the  department.  The  finance  min 
ister,  much  impressed  by  the  shrewd 
good  sense  of  the  stranger,  and  anxious 
to  explain  his  lack  of  available  funds, 
which  prevented  him  from  rewarding 
her  suitably,  deplored  the  painful  deficit 
in  the  royal  exchequer.  Bel-Abba,  a 
bachelor,  and  famous  for  his  devotion 
to  the  sex  for  twenty  years  past,  found 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed         71 

himself  for  the  first  time  deeply  smitten 
with  the  charms  of  Dazee,  and  was  in 
fatuated  enough  to  have  carried  her  off, 
had  she  been  willing,  but  he  ever  lacked 
initiative  and  ready  money.  He  ad 
mired  her  in  silence,  but  was  less  reti 
cent  about  the  secrets  of  state.  The 
renegade,  now  a  brigadier  of  Janizaries, 
held  his  royal  master  in  awe,  but  cher 
ished  a  secret  passion  for  the  fair  one 
who  had  first  aided  him  to  promotion. 
He  had  plans  for  reorganizing  the  army, 
which  he  submitted  for  her  considera 
tion,  and  was  much  pleased  by  her  ap 
proval  of  them. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that,  within  a  fort 
night,  Dazee  knew  much  more  about 
the  private  and  public  affairs  of  Babosa 
than  did  any  other  individual  in  the  cap 
ital  or  in  the  whole  realm  of  Gallimatia. 
Therefore  was  she  more  gratified  than 
surprised  when  she  received  an  order  to 
attend  the  palace  for  a  sitting  with  the 
king  himself. 


72         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

His  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased 
to  grant  her  a  private  audience,  in  the 
presence  only  of  the  faithful  Bel-Abba 
and  a  guard  of  deaf-mutes. 

Being  given  a  seat,  Dazee  presently 
closed  her  eyes  and  fell  into  a  deep 
trance.  After  some  minutes  of  silence 
a  slight  shudder  agitated  her  lovely 
form.  Then,  opening  her  lips  with  a 
ravishing  smile,  she  said:  "  I  see  a  spirit 
— grand,  majestic.  He  stands  proudly, 
as  giving  commands.  He  has  a  scimitar 
and  flowing  robes  and  a  jewelled  turban. 
It  is  the  spirit  of  a  man.  He  looks  at 
you  fondly.  He  calls  you  his  son.  Do 
you  know  any  warrior  in  the  spirit-land 
who  would  call  you  his  son?" 

"  Great  Heavens !"  cried  the  king.  "  It 
must  be  my  father!" 

"Yes,  it  is  your  father.  He  says  he 
is  happy  in  the  spirit-land.  I  do  not 
see  your  mother  there." 

The  king  bowed  his  head  gravely  and 
said :  "  The  world  is  still  rich  in  possess- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        73 

ing  her.  But,  tell  me,  do  you  see  any 
other  spirit?" 

Dazee  closed  her  eyes  again,  and  a 
tremor  shook  her  compact  frame  as  she 
said: 

"  Do  I  see  spirits?"  Here  she  smiled. 
"Yes,  I  see  hosts  of  them  surrounding 
you,  and  more  ever  coming.  They  smile 
upon  you.  They  seem  to  love  you. 
They  are  beautiful  as  houris." 

The  king  frowned.  "Is  there  no 
One?  Canst  not  unfold  the  future?" 
Dazee  passed  her  hand  before  her  eyes, 
as  if  moving  an  invisible  veil  aside. 

Then,  in  faltering  accents,  and  broken, 
she  said: 

"Yes,  yes;  there  is  One.  She  is  of 
more  than  earthly  beauty.  Oh,  she  is 
lovely;  oh,  she  is  fair."  Here  the  en 
tranced  speaker  stood  up,  her  eyes  gaz 
ing  fixedly  before  her,  her  arms  extended. 
"  She  looks  at  you — oh,  so  fondly!  She 
wishes  to  touch  you.  Smile  on  her. 
Say  that  she  may  approach  you." 


74         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

The  king,  moved  beyond  the  power 
of  expression,  could  only  bow  assent. 
Dazee  turned  her  head  slightly,  as  if 
addressing  one  unseen,  and  said : 

"Yes,  yes,  sweet  sister,  you  may  ap 
proach  him  whom  you  love.  What? 
Through  the  hands  of  me,  unworthy? 
Ah,  it  is  too  much— but  for  your  sake — 
Here,  submitting  entirely  to  the  mystic 
power  controlling  her,  and  moving  me 
chanically,  as  a  sleep-walker  might,  she 
advanced,  threw  her  arms  about  the 
young  monarch's  neck,  and  embraced 
him  with  a  tender  ardor  wholly  spiritual, 
yet  with  a  pathetic  tenacity  full  of  en 
dearing  reminiscence.  It  was  a  thrilling 
moment.  The  unconscious  intermedi 
ary  of  two  divided  hearts  bore  the  sweet 
message  from  the  one  unknown  and  de 
livered  it,  as  generous  executors  add  of 
their  own  riches  to  the  legacies  devised 
for  beloved  wards.  The  king,  on  his 
part,  closed  his  eyes  for  a  moment  and 
fed  his  starved  heart  with  thoughts  of 


"It  was  a  thrilling  moment" 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        75 

the  future.  The  illusion,  while  it  lasted, 
was  ecstatic.  The  king  was  loath  to 
break  it.  Dazee,  completely  obsessed 
by  her  control,  could  not  tear  herself 
away.  The  sacred  silence  was  broken 
by  a  respectful  but  significant  cough 
from  the  venerable  Bel-Abba,  who  re 
marked,  sapiently,  as  was  his  wont: 

"The  wise  man  hath  said  there  is  a 
pleasure  that  is  akin  to  pain,  and  may 
hap  he  was  right ;  but  I  don't  like  to  see 
pain  presuming  too  much  on  the  rela 
tionship." 

Dazee,  with  a  profound  sigh,  un 
clasped  her  arms,  which  exhibited  come 
ly  proportions,  for  in  her  agitation  they 
had  become  uncovered,  and  let  them 
fall  by  her  sides.  Then,  sinking  back 
in  her  chair,  she  drew  several  deep 
breaths ;  a  shudder  ran  not  ungracefully 
over  her  fair  shoulders ;  her  body  undu 
lated  slightly;  then  a  sweet  languor 
came  over  her.  She  lay  back  for  a  mo 
ment,  her  chest  slowly  heaving.  Pres- 


76        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ently  her  eyes  opened  in  childlike  won 
der.  At  first  she  did  not  see  anything, 
but  a  faint  frown,  like  the  shadow  of  a 
blue  cloud  on  a  summer  lake,  knitted 
her  brows.  It  was  instantly  dispelled, 
and  a  ravishing  smile  shone  upon  her 
countenance  as  she  said,  "Oh,  where 
am  I?  Methought  I  dreamed — dream 
ed  I  was  in  heaven." 

"Nay,"  said  the  king,  taking  her 
hand  and  gently  patting  it;  "it  is  you 
have  brought  heaven  to  a  sad  heart." 

Although  there  was  little  disparity  in 
their  years,  and  that  little  on  the  side  of 
the  lady,  his  Majesty  was  impelled  to 
assume  an  attitude  almost  paternal  tow 
ards  her.  He  laid  his  hand  on  her  head 
benignantly.  He  called  her  "child" 
more  than  once.  Much  he  marvelled 
and  lacked  words  to  express  his  wonder 
at  the  fidelity  with  which  she  had 
brought  to  his  vision  the  fond  ideal  as 
yet  to  him  unknown. 

"Is  it  not  astonishing,  nay,  even  mar- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        77 

vellous,  good  Bel-Abba,"  he  exclaimed, 
"how  this  foreign  child,  by  Allah's 
mercy,  hath  enabled  me  to  see,  speak 
with,  and  even  hold  in  mine  arms,  the 
veritable  being  of  my  adored  affinity?" 

To  which  the  wise  minister  dutifully 
assented;  but  Dazee  gently  disclaimed 
any  credit,  saying,  "  I  am  but  a  lute  in 
the  hands  of  the  player."  And  when 
he  would  have  rewarded  her  with  lar 
gess,  she  said  him  nay,  averring  that  it 
was  guerdon  enough  to  have  had  an 
honor  so  great.  Whereat  Bel-Abba 
declared  that  the  maid  was  right. 
"Would  that  his  Majesty  had  many 
more  such  servants!"  he  piously  ex 
claimed. 

But  when  she  had  departed,  he,  too, 
left  to  seek  his  modest  habitation. 
There  he  meditated  long  to  himself. 
"Verily  he  saw  nothing,  and  he  heard 
nothing,  and  he  knoweth  nothing,  and 
the  hire  which  he  hath  paid  befitteth 
the  service  rendered.  But  Allah  be 


78        The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

praised  that  all  wise  men  are  not  so 
compensated,  else  had  we  philosophers 
died  of  starvation  long  ago!" 

Yet  was  the  sage  Bel-Abba  wrong  to 
make  such  a  superficial  judgment,  for 
Dazee  said  to  herself,  as  she  reburnished 
from  a  magic  phial  the  golden  tresses 
that  had  been  stroked  that  day  by  the 
hand  of  royalty:  "The  lordly  salmon 
is  cheaply  bought  with  a  minnow. 
Shall  we  grudge  the  cost  of  the  filings 
which  serve  to  salt  the  brick?  Or  doth 
the  wise  vendor  of  home-made  currency 
save  his  specimens  and  lose  his  cus 
tomer?" 

For  the  maiden  was  also  a  poet,  and 
spoke  in  the  beautiful  metaphor  of  the 
mystic  West. 


How    to   Bring  Up  Parents: 

with  Annotations  by 

One  of  Them 

If  children  were  made  before  their 
parents,  family  life  would  be  different 
from  what  it  is. — How  to  Raise  Hens: 
by  an  Experienced  Egg. 


NE  day,  shortly  after  the  royal  se 
ance,  Dazee  found  a  new  visitor 
in  her  reception-room.  It  was 
a  young  maiden  who  had  come  to 
be  advised  regarding  the  limits  of 
her  duty  towards  parents,  who,  she  said, 
had  treated  their  own  child  in  a  manner 
"unnatural,  inhuman,  monstrous,  and 
real  mean."  They  interfered  with  her 
consumption  of  sweetmeats  and  fiction, 
forced  her  to  take  abhorrent  exercise, 
79 


8o         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

and  regulated  tyrannically  her  hours  of 
going  to  bed  and  getting  up.  When 
she  remonstrated,  they  rebuked  her; 
when  she  rebelled^  they  chastised  her. 

"Chastised!  What  do  you  mean?" 
cried  the  seeress. 

"Punished  me  with  cruel  hands,"  re 
plied  the  maid,  hanging  her  head  in 
shame. 

"Do  you  mean,  spanked  you?" 

The  maid  nodded  faintly.  Then  was 
Dazee's  proud  soul  aroused.  "Do  you 
know  what  would  happen  if  anybody 
tried  to  spank  a  free-born  American 
child?"  she  asked,  hotly.  "I  will  tell 
you.  My  father  tried  it  with  me  once. 
Tried  to  spank  me,  his  daughter.  He 
never  tried  it  again." 

"No?"  said  the  young  girl,  inquir 
ingly. 

"No,  he  didn't,"  replied  Dazee,  em 
phatically.  "He  was  lame  for  two 
weeks  afterwards.  I  bit  him."  She 
laughed  aloud,  displaying  the  ivory  car- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        81 

nivory  which  had  defended  her  youthful 
dignity. 

"  Of  course  it  was  all  wrong  and  fool 
ish,"  she  added,  deprecatingly.  "He 
should  have  known  better.  So  should 
maw.  So  should  I,  if  my  parents  had 
been  educated  correctly."  She  sighed. 
"  It  is  a  dreadful  responsibility  we  have 
with  our  parents.  But  maw  is  all  right 
now,"  she  added,  cheerfully.  "I  have 
attended  to  her  education  ever  since. 
Maw!  O  maw!" 

The  property  mother  hastily  appear 
ed  at  the  door.  "What  is  it,  dear?" 
she  asked. 

"Nothing,"  replied  the  fond  child. 
"I  just  wanted  to  see  if  you  knew 
enough  to  come  when  you  are  called. 
You  may  go  to  bed  now,  and  don't  for 
get  to  call  me  when  I  want  to  get  up. 
Ta-ta,  momsey." 

The  property  mother  smiled  at  the 
engaging  humor  and  withdrew,  mur 
muring  to  herself,  "Truly,  if  she  were 


82         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

my  own  child,  she  would  not  treat  me 
more  like  a  daughter." 

But  the  visitor  was  so  enchanted  with 
the  sally  that  she  determined  to  try  it 
on  her  own  parent  the  next  day.  She 
tried  it.  The  august  matron  of  the 
harem,  on  receiving  the  message,  came 
in  all  haste,  fearing  that  some  disorder 
had  attacked  her  offspring.  She,  on 
learning  that  she  had  been  summoned 
merely  to  show  that  she  "knew  enough 
to  come  when  she  was  called,"  was  deep 
ly  distressed,  and  went  in  person  to  in 
form  her  lord.  He,  being  occupied  at 
the  moment,  sent  a  leech,  who,  after 
careful  examination  of  the  patient,  pro 
nounced  her  possessed  of  an  evil  genie. 
A  family  council  held  long  and  earnest 
deliberation,  and  decided  that  the  spirit 
must  be  exorcised  by  prayers  and  basti 
nado. 

When  these  rites  had  been  observed, 
the  patient  was  given  ample  leisure  for 
recovery  in  a  solitary,  well-guarded  cell. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        83 

As  she  lay  on  her  couch,  weeping  sorely 
over  her  blistered  feet,  she  reproached 
herself  that  she  had  not  further  imitated 
her  teacher's  example.  "I  forgot  to 
bite  him,"  she  sobbed;  "but  next  time 
I  will."  Alas,  there  was  no  next  time. 
That  night  she  was  carefully  encased  in 
a  sack  and  quietly  deposited  beneath 
the  blue  waters  of  the  Libyan  Gulf. 

When  the  king  heard  of  the  incident, 
he  remarked  that  foreign  children  were 
not  to  be  judged  by  the  standard  of 
Gallimatia,  and  that  even  Gallimatian 
mothers  might  sometimes  learn  from 
their  children.  For  the  august  queen- 
mother  had  been  known  to  speak  con 
temptuously  of  Dazee,  and  to  hint  that 
she  hoped  that  the  stranger  was  all  that 
she  ought  to  be,  a  pious  aspiration 
which  is  not  always  as  fervent  as  it 
soundeth.  The  queen-mother  had  not 
as  yet  set  eyes  on  the  stranger,  and  felt, 
therefore,  that  she  was  speaking  with 
out  prejudice.  The  king  was  most  anx- 


84         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ious  to  gain  the  good-will  of  his  mother 
for  Dazee,  and  accordingly  came  to  her, 
saying  that  he  had  fortunately  an  hour 
free  from  the  cares  of  state,  and  would 
fain  devote  it  to  sitting  at  her  feet  and 
listening,  as  of  yore,  to  her  words  of  lov 
ing  wisdom. 

"Ah,  my  son,"  she  replied,  "right 
gladly  do  I  grant  what  is  too  rarely 
asked,  but,  alas,  of  late  thou  hast  sought 
not  much  of  the  counsel  which  thou 
dost  praise.  When  thou  hast  children 
of  thine  own,  perchance  thou  wilt  know 
the  cares  of  a  parent.  The  tadpole 
longed  to  have  legs ;  but  nobody  noticed 
him  till  he  became  a  frog  and  his  legs 
were  found  to  be  delicious  eating. 

"  Bethink  thee  of  the  tale  of  the  wise 
astrologer  who  could  foretell  the  win 
ning  numbers  in  any  lottery  for  the 
nominal  sum  of  one  piaster,  and  how 
he  was  once  approached  by  a  client  who 
had  staked  heavily  on  the  prediction 
and  lost.  '  Thou  art  an  impostor,'  cried 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        85 

the  man,  'and  I  always  thought  so.' 
'  Blasphemous  wretch !'  exclaimed  the 
holy  man.  'And  I,  trusting  in  thy 
faith,  did  predict  accordingly.  But  the 
stars,  which  never  err,  saw  thy  doubting 
soul  and  changed  their  courses  to  con 
found  thee.  Oh,  people,  what  should  be 
done  with  a  miscreant  who  thus  trifles 
with  the  solar  system?'  And  the  peo 
ple,  righteously  indignant,  for  they  too 
had  wagered  on  the  losing  number,  arose 
and  stoned  the  infidel  to  death. 

"Let  this  be  a  warning  to  thee,  my 
son,  that  a  mother  can  forgive  every 
thing,  and  generally  she  has  to.  Thou 
art  a  man.  Thou  wilt  marry,  as  thou 
hast  already;  but  bear  in  mind,  when 
thou  art  a  father,  that  a  rooster  trying 
to  hatch  out  a  porcelain  door-knob  is  a 
bird  of  wisdom  compared  with  a  man 
seeking  to  make  a  match  for  his  daugh 
ter. 

"  I  mind  me  of  a  certain  man  who 
was  not  so  everlasting  certain  as  he 

6 


86         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

thought,  and  he  had  three  daughters 
whom  he  would  fain  dispose  of  in  mar 
riage.  The  first  became  the  wife  of  a 
poor  man,  and  was  blessed  with  a  large 
and  healthy  family  who  helped  her 
father  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door 
by  leaving  no  room  there  for  the  lean 
est  of  wolves.  The  second  married  a 
rich  man,  and  immediately  disowned  her 
relatives.  The  third,  seeing  how  ill  her 
sisters  had  done,  determined  to  remain 
a  maiden,  and  consoled  herself  by  nag 
ging  her  father  and  spoiling  her  sister's 
children.  What  more  could  she  have 
gained  if  she  had  been  a  happy  wife  and 
mother?  Do  not  blame  your  parents, 
my  son,  for  having  brought  you  into  the 
world.  Mayhap  they  are  not  proud  of 
it.  Thou  wilt  marry.  But  forget  not 
that  most  men  marry  fools." 

"And  how  is  it  with  women?"  asked 
the  king,  hoping  to  entrap  her. 

"All  women  do,"  she  replied,  senten- 
tiously. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        87 

He  would  fain  have  asked  her  about 
the  genie's  curse;  but  as  the  question 
involved  the  still  more  delicate  one,  did 
she  love  her  lord  when  she  wedded  him  ? 
and,  if  so,  how  had  she  escaped  the 
doom?  he  decided  that  it  were  better 
left  unspoken.  Nor  had  his  revered 
mother  yet  finished  her  homily.  She 
had  just  paused  for  breath,  as  it  were, 
and  quickly  resumed  the  subject  by 
saying,  "A  man  who  deeds  his  property 
to  his  children  in  order  to  have  a  home 
in  his  declining  years  would  drop  his 
watch  overboard  so  that  he  might 
know  just  where  it  was.  Thou  art  as 
wise,  in  thy  infatuation  for  that  foreign 
adventuress  with  her  brazen  face. ' ' 

"But,"  remonstrated  the  good  mon 
arch,  "  thou  hast  never  seen  her  face,  and 
I  have." 

"Yes,  thou  hast  seen  her,"  was  the 
tart  reply,  "and  so  thou  art  blinded  by 
the  glamour  of  her  looks,  knowing  not 
how  she  maketh  them.  She  is  artful 


88         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

enough  to  put  on  a  sweet  face  before 
the  king;  but,  trust  me,  an  she  saw 
him  under  another  guise,  the  hussy 
would  have  quite  another  countenance 
to  show  him." 

King  Sap'ed  went  away  saddened  but 
not  discouraged.  He  was  pained  and 
amazed  that  one  good  woman  should  so 
harshly  misjudge  another ;  for  he  prided 
himself  on  his  rare  knowledge  of  the 
sex. 


VIII 

.    Containing    Valuable    Dis 
course  on  the  Art  of 
Healing* 

Mice  are  unfit  for  self-government. 
That  is  why  a  cat  may  look  at  a  king 
without  blushing.  —  The  Lives  of 
Bacalli. 

HOU  rememberest,  no  doubt,  the 
legend  of  Mohammed  (may  his 
name  be  forever  blessed!)  and 
the  mannerless  mountain  which 
refused  to  come  to  him?"  The 
speaker  was  a  Bedouin,  swarthy  almost 

*  Many  commentators  agree  with  the  erudite 
Howli,  that  this  chapter  was  written  as  much 
for  the  purpose  of  displaying  the  author's  scien 
tific  knowledge  as  of  swelling  the  dimensions  of 
his  work  to  the  standard  size.  It  seems  to  have 
achieved  both  objects,  and  might  perhaps  be 
skipped;  but  it  were  better  to  read  it  first. — 
EDITOR. 

89 


90         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

to  blackness,  wearing  a  white  burnous 
and  an  ample  turban  which  partly  hid 
his  striking  countenance.  He  had  come 
to  Dazee  in  the  early  evening  to  study 
the  lore  of  the  West,  for  he  was  a  phy 
sician,  he  said,  of  high  repute  among 
the  practitioners  of  the  desert. 

"I  recall  the  anecdote,"  said  she. 
"The  mountain  unfortunately  had  a 
prior,  or  a  subsequent,  engagement,  I 
believe,  and  so  could  not  come.  The 
prophet  had  to  pocket  his  dignity  and 
make  the  first  call,  if  I  remember 
aright." 

"Thou  art  partly  right,"  returned 
the  Bedouin;  "but  dost  know  what 
happened  after?" 

"I  suppose  they  got  on  visiting 
terms,"  said  Dazee,  laughingly,  "and 
their  families  became  quite  intimate  and 
quarrelled  sociably,  in  due  time." 

The  son  of  the  desert  frowned.  "Not 
so.  The  prophet  did,  indeed,  go  to  the 
mountain;  but  ever  as  he  drew  nigher 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        91 

the  mountain  grew  smaller,  until,  as  he 
set  his  sacred  foot  on  that  which  had 
been  its  proud  crest,  lo !  it  was  now  an 
arid  plain,  sandy  and  level  with  the  sea. 
Its  very  name  hath  perished  from  the 
memory  of  man,  while  that  of  the  proph 
et  endureth  forever.  I  would  not  court 
such  a  fate;  so" — here  he  bowed  with 
the  fine  grace  of  an  Arab — "so  I  have 
come  to  thee  even  unbidden." 

"And  right  welcome  thou  art,"  cried 
Dazee,  clapping  her  hands  in  childlike 
glee.  "Tell  me  what  one  who  is  no 
prophet  may  do  for  the  first  mountain 
I  ever  heard  of  that  hath  more  wit  than 
the  ordinary  race  of  giants." 

"I  would  humbly  ask,"  he  said,  "to 
be  instructed  in  the  latest  and  most 
popular  diseases  of  thy  country,  for 
times  have  changed  in  Arabia  Petra. 
The  tide  of  travel  hath  stimulated  busi 
ness  among  the  banditti,  so  that  wealth 
is  no  longer  rare,  luxury  hath  crept  in, 
and  our  people  are  not  content  with  the 


92         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

plain,  old-fashioned  diseases  of  their 
fathers,  but  yearn  for  new  ones,  diffi 
cult  of  diagnosis  and  almost  impossible 
of  cure.  The  women,  especially,  try 
our  patience  more  than  our  reme 
dies." 

Dazee  opened  her  beautiful  eyes  in 
wonder.  "Dost  mean  that  you  physi 
cians  wish  to  cure  your  patients — your 
wealthy  patients?" 

"Of  a  truth,  we  do.  What  else?" 
and  he  also  opened  his  eyes  in  amaze. 

"Oh,  of  course,"  returned  Dazee;  "in 
that  case  there  is  nothing  to  be  done. 
In  my  countiy  the  physician  is  not  so 
wasteful  of  talent  and  money  —  his 
talent— their  money — I  mean.  With 
us  the  maxim  runneth,  '  Time  is  money.' 
We  say,  also,  time  is  the  great  healer." 

"  I  have  come  to  be  taught,"  said  the 
Bedouin,  humbly.  "  I  pray  thee  in 
struct  me.  Tell  me  all  about  the  prac 
tice  of  the  learned  and  most  wise  leeches 
of  thy  favored  land." 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        93 

So  Dazee,  much  interested  in  the 
simple  stranger,  began  as  follows: 

"The  art  of  healing  has  made  giant 
strides  since  the  discovery  of  the  germ 
theory,  and  the  overwhelming  proof 
that  it  is  a  theory  and  not  merely  a  law 
of  nature;  because  a  law  is  something 
which  can  be  disobeyed,  but  a  theory  is 
inflexible,  invariable,  and  infallible,  un 
til  superseded  by  a  stronger — that  is  to 
say,  a  newer — theory.  The  germ  theory 
offers  the  latest  and,  for  the  present,  the 
final,  solution  of  all  the  mysteries  of 
medicine.  One  can  only  wonder  how 
ignorant,  suffering  humanity  ever  at 
tained  to  such  a  wealth  and  variety  of 
ailments  without  the  aid  of  modern 
science.  Man  owes  a  great  debt  to  the 
obscure  but  all-powerful  bug." 

"  But  what  did  they  do  before  the 
bug  was  discovered?"  asked  the  intelli 
gent  Bedouin. 

"  Lived  and  died  as  the  beasts  of  the 
field,"  replied  Dazee,  "so  that  longev- 


94         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ity  was  almost  epidemic  in  the  less-cult 
ured  communities." 

"Was  it  caused  by  a  germ?"  asked 
the  stranger. 

"  Germs,  and  Germans,  who  first  dis 
covered  them,"  was  the  sententious  re 
ply.  "A  disease  without  a  germ  is  as 
inconceivable  as  a  physician  without  a 
fee.  Observe  that  the  words  are  ex 
plained  by  their  roots :  fee-sician,  for 
a  doctor;  mew-sician,  for  a  singer; 
pay  -  tient,  one  who  pays,  and  so 
forth." 

"Thou  art  thyself  a  healer,  of  great 
and  mystic  powers,  I  am  told,"  said  the 
edified  listener. 

"Call  me,  rather,  a  humble  pupil  at 
the  feet  of  science,"  she  replied,  mod 
estly.  "  I  do  not  deal  with  drugs  or 
philtres,  save  such  decoctions  as  the 
wise  children  of  the  forest  have  culled 
from  nature's  pharmacy.  My  father 
was  the  great  woman  doctor,  Mrs.  Pun- 
kin,  whose  fame  hath  doubtless  reached 


'But  what  did  they  do  be j ore  the  bug  was  discovered?' 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        95 

thy  country,  as  it  hath  all  the  world, 
under  her  pen-name." 

"And  was  she  thine  illustrious  sire? 
I  ever  supposed  it  was  a  woman  and 
not  a  pain  -  name,  as  thou  callest  it. 
Hast  thou,  too,  a  pain-name?" 

"Pen-name,"  corrected  Dazee;  "my 
mission  is  to  destroy  pain,  not  to  im 
mortalize  it  by  connection  with  me. 
My  method  is  a  combination  of  the 
best  features  of  the  mind-cure  and  ab 
sent  treatment,  and  is  known  to  the 
medical  faculties  of  all  the  world  as  the 
Absent-Minded  System  of  Therapeutics. 
Under  it  patients  are  treated  by  letter, 
or,  in  emergency  cases,  by  wireless 
telegraphy,  for  we  neglect  none  of  the 
established  resources  of  science.  Thus, 
from  the  mere  photograph  of  any  per 
son  we  can  diagnose  his  or  her  disease — 
most  commonly  hers  —  and  almost  al 
ways  effect  an  immediate  cure  by  send 
ing  the  sufferer  a  photograph  of  the 
anti-germ  of  the  especial  malady. 


96         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

"This,  you  see,  is  strictly  absent 
treatment.  The  mind  has  nothing  to 
do  with  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  most 
favorable  conditions  for  success  under 
this  system  are  found  in  a  total  lack  of 
that  faculty." 

"  Methinks  the  same  might  be  said  of 
the  art  of  government,"  murmured  the 
Bedouin. 

"  Nay,  of  that  I  know  naught,"  said 
she,  discreetly;  "  I  am  a  stranger  here." 

"  So  am  not  I,"  rejoined  the  Bedouin, 
with  sudden  sternness  in  his  voice. 
"Yet  would  I  were,  rather  than  live  to 
see  my  native  land  misruled  by  a  sloth 
ful  king  and  a  household  of  foolish 
women."  He  rose  to  his  feet  and  paced 
the  floor.  As  he  did  so,  his  burnous 
slipped  partially  from  his  neck.  He 
replaced  it  immediately,  but  not  ere 
Dazee's  quick  eye  had  noted  a  strange 
gleam  of  white  skin  below  his  straight, 
black  hair.  It  was  a  momentary  glimpse, 
but  it  made  her  think.  The  Bedouin, 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        97 

mistaking  her  look,  hastened  to  add: 
"  Perchance  I  am  unwise  to  speak  such 
words  to  one  who,  I  am  told,  enjoyeth 
high  favor  with  the  king." 

Dazee  arose  in  her  turn.  "Thou  art 
my  guest,"  she  said,  with  dignity,  "and 
thy  words  go  no  farther ;  but  thou  little 
knowest  the  good  and  wise  monarch, 
else  thou  hadst  not  so  lightly  misjudged 
him." 

The  Bedouin  sneered:  "A  king  who 
cannot  find  in  all  the  land  one  truly  lov 
ing  woman  to  be  his  queen!" 

"Surely  thou  art  a  stranger  in  thine 
own  land,"  cried  Dazee,  "and  wondrous 
ignorant  at  that.  Know,  then,  that  the 
king  hath  no  fewer  than  three  wives 
already,  and  each  one  loveth  him  dearly. 
They  have  told  me  so  themselves." 

"  Yet  they  have  each  and  all  survived 
the  genie's  curse.  Their  love  is  safely 
tepid,  I'll  warrant." 

Strange  to  say,  Dazee  had  never 
heard  before  of  the  curse,  for  by  this 


98         The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

time  it  had  been  forgotten  by  the  light- 
hearted  people  of  Babosa,  or  was  treated 
as  so  much  a  matter  of  common  knowl 
edge,  like  a  volcano  or  a  waterfall  at  the 
door,  as  not  to  be  thought  worthy  of 
mention. 

So  she  listened  with  rapt  awe,  as  the 
Bedouin  unfolded  the  fearful  legend. 
She  had  all  the  Occidental  dread  of  the 
preternatural,  which  so  generally  ac 
companies  a  boasted  lack  of  faith  in 
the  supernatural.  The  dispensations  of 
Providence  were  so  different  from  those 
which  she  would  have  ordained  under 
the  same  circumstances  that  she  placed 
no  faith  in  them;  but  for  the  invisible 
world  in  general  she  had  a  discreet  re 
spect — there  were  so  many  things  that 
might  be  true,  it  were  wise  to  despise 
none  of  them. 

When  the  story  was  finished,  she 
drew  a  long  breath.  Then  she  exclaim 
ed:  "No  mean  or  foolish  monarch  this, 
but  a  brave,  sad  heart,  thrice  wounded 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed        99 

and  all  but  broken.  Ah,  did  he  but 
know  the  depth  of  a  true  woman's  love, 
the  extent  of  a  true  woman's  sacrifice, 
he  would  not  give  way  to  despair  nor 
be  deemed  the  subject  of  gibes  which, 
however  well  intended,  as  I  am  sure 
thine  must  be,  he  doth  not  deserve." 

The  Bedouin  was  moved  by  her  out 
burst  of  feeling.  "Ah,"  he  cried,  "had 
I  such  a  heart  to  call  mine  own!  But 
it  cannot  be!" 

"  It  cannot  "Be,"  echoed  Dazee,  after 
he  had  gone ;  but  her  thoughts  were  not 
of  the  swarthy  Bedouin,  albeit  he  was 
not  ill  favored  and  had  a  noble  bearing. 


IX 


The  Mysterious  Bedouin  of 
the  Desert 

The  hardest  heart  may  yet  be 
moved  by  one  who  begs  him  not  to 
contribute  money  to  an  unworthy, 
i.e.,  a  rival,  cause. — Confessions  of  a 
Prophet. 


URIOUSLY  enough,  the  first  person 
of  whom  Dazee  made  inquiries 
about  the  mysterious  curse  was 
none  other  than  the  youth  Ahlgab, 
who  had  alarmed  the  court  with 
his  ominous  message  on  the  eve  of 
the  king's  first  marriage.  He  came 
seeking  information  from  the  seeress 
about  a  fellow-servant  of  the  opposite 
sex,  a  common  quest  among  her  pa 
trons  of  the  humbler  sort. 

From  him,  after  supplying  him  with 
100 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       101 

a  satisfactory,  if  vague,  horoscope,  she 
gently  extracted  all  that  he  knew  con 
cerning  himself,  his  master  Al  Woppa- 
jah,  and  the  powerful  genie  who  had 
launched  the  curse.  The  account  of 
the  latter  was  far  from  reassuring,  al 
beit  the  seeress  displayed  no  sign  of 
disquiet  unbecoming  one  on  intimate 
terms  with  the  secrets  of  the  universe. 
As  the  reader  knows,  El  Hatem  was 
not  of  a  sociable  nature,  even  among 
those  of  his  own  race.  He  had  prac 
tically  retired  from  active  life,  and  de 
voted  all  his  time  to  study  and  research 
in  the  ever-fresh  domain  of  scientific 
alimentation.  He  laughed  to  scorn  the 
puny  efforts  of  mortals  to  decoy  him 
from  his  retreat  by  means  of  lamps, 
rings,  and  other  time-honored  devices. 
His  insulation  was  perfect.  Woppajah, 
a  human  encyclopaedia  of  useless  knowl 
edge,  and  highly  esteemed  by  the  Royal 
Society  of  Antiquarians,  had  learned 
of  the  curse  while  engaged  in  compil- 


102       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ing  his  famous  Dictionary  of  Obsolete 
Words  and  Complete  Digest  of  Repealed 
Statutes,  on  which  he  had  been  occupied 
for  many  years  at  a  large  salary.  Out 
of  pure  gratitude  to  his  appreciative 
countrymen  he  had  made  known  his 
discovery  at  the  psychologically  inop 
portune  moment.  He  was  surprised 
and  pained  that  the  king  had  not  recog 
nized  the  service  by  promotion,  pen 
sion,  or  even  an  inexpensive  title;  but 
governments  are  proverbially  ungrate 
ful. 

To  Dazee  the  subject  was  a  source 
of  anxiety.  She  valued  the  friendship 
and  regarded  the  welfare  of  the  king 
with  a  tender  zeal  which  only  an  Amer 
ican  is  capable  of  feeling.  For  true 
freedom  finds  its  most  frequent  expres 
sion  in  a  noble  superiority  to  the  preju 
dices  of  rank  and  station. 

Dazee  lost  no  time  in  seeking  and  ob 
taining  an  interview  with  Al  Woppajah, 
for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  determin- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       103 

ing  the  exact  status  of  a  certain  obso 
lete  law,  passed  in  a  former  century  and 
pronounced  unconstitutional  by  a  su 
preme  court  whose  appointment  had 
been  declared  illegal  by  a  succeeding 
court.  Professing  herself  vastly  en 
lightened  by  his  exposition  of  the  case, 
Dazee  thanked  him,  and  then  dexter 
ously  turned  the  conversation  to  the 
subject  of  occultism  in  general  and  ap 
plied  anathemas  in  particular.  The 
genie's  curse  came  to  the  surface  as  a 
remarkable  illustration  of  the  uncer 
tainty  of  the  law,  even  of  supernatural 
law. 

"I  have  made  an  especial  study  of 
that  curse,"  said  Woppajah.  "It  is 
absolutely  flawless  in  form  and  spirit, 
properly  attested,  sealed,  and  recorded 
in  the  registrar's  office ;  and  yet  —  it 
has  not  worked  even  once  since  it  was 
promulgated.  I  confess  that  it  sur 
passes  my  comprehension." 

"Perhaps   the   conditions   were   not 


104       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

all  right  at  the  time,"  said  Dazee,  tim 
idly,  remembering  certain  occasions 
when  she  herself  had  failed  to  secure 
satisfactory  manifestations  from  the 
spirit  world,  either  because  of  the  pres 
ence  of  a  discordant  element,  the  ab 
sence  of  a  trustworthy  assistant,  too 
little  music,  too  much  light,  or  some 
other  adverse  influence. 

"Nay,"  cried  the  wise  man;  "to 
think  so  were  treason,  if  not  blasphemy 
itself.  It  is  not  imaginable  that  any 
one  selected  for  the  high  honor  of  royal 
consort  could  fail  to  love  the  king  with 
the  most  perfect  passion.  Reason  and 
experience  alike  forbid  the  thought." 

"Then  how  do  you  account  for  the 
phenomenon?" 

"  Phenomena  are  not  to  be  accounted 
for,"  was  the  reply.  "  I  have  a  theory — 
but,  mind  you,  it  is  only  a  theory,  noth 
ing  more,  and  time  alone  can  prove  or 
disprove  it." 

"And  your  theory?"  queried  Dazee. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      105 

"It  is  this,"  said  the  sage,  solemnly. 
"For  some  reason  known  to  himself 
alone,  or  mayhap  through  some  inad 
vertence  on  the  part  of  the  compounder 
of  it,  the  author  of  the  curse  made  it  of 
such  powerful  ingredients  that  it  will 
work  only  under  extraordinary  condi 
tions;  such  as,  for  example,  an  emer 
gency  when  the  very  existence  of  the 
dynasty  depended  on  a  single  life. 
This  might  happen  in  the  case  of  a 
king  as  deeply  in  love  with  his  bride  as 
she  naturally  always  must  be  with  him 
— a  rare  occurrence,  but  not  inconceiv 
able.  Compounded  with  the  proper 
degree  of  malignity,  as  any  conscien 
tious  artist  would  prepare  it,  such  a 
curse  would  not  take  effect  when  the 
results  were  comparatively  trivial,  in 
volving  only  the  base  multitude;  but  it 
would  fall  with  all  its  blasting  powers 
on  the  head  of  a  queen  so  blest  beyond 
all  her  kind  as  to  possess  the  devoted 
love  of  her  lord  and  king.  Only  the 


io6       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

great  genie  himself  knows  if  such  be 
the  case  with  the  present  curse." 

Dazee  trembled  as  she  recognized  the 
full  force  of  the  theory,  and,  after  thank 
ing  its  gifted  propounder,  she  withdrew 
to  meditate  on  the  wondrous  destiny 
of  her  who  was  to  win  the  love  of  the 
mighty  King  Sap'ed  at  the  cost  of  her 
life.  She  resolved  at  any  risk  to  appeal 
in  person  to  the  genie  himself.  But  ere 
she  could  carry  out  this  noble  intention 
she  received  another  visit  from  the 
Bedouin  physician,  who  came,  as  before, 
in  the  dusk  of  the  evening. 

After  some  desultory  talk  on  profes 
sional  matters,  he  again  brought  the 
conversation  about  to  the  king  and  his 
matrimonial  infelicities.  Warned  by 
his  previous  rebuke,  he  was  less  bitter 
in  his  words.  He  even  admitted  that 
the  monarch  had  a  good  heart,  but  an 
infirm  will. 

"Were  I,  Depas,  the  Bedouin,  in  the 
place  of  Sap'ed,  the  king,  by  the  beard 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       107 

of  the  prophet  I  should  know  mine 
own  mind.  Instead  of  picking  my 
consort  from  a  mob  of  all-too-willing 
candidates,  I  should  choose  a  bride  for 
myself,  win  her  on  my  merits,  and  wed 
her,  though  mine,  and  not  her  life,  were 
to  be  the  price  ere  the  setting  of  the  sun. 
But,  alas!"  he  continued,  after  a  pause, 
"what  am  I  that  I  should  prate  of 
choosing  a  wife?  Who  would  listen  to 
the  suit  of  a  nameless  nomad?  And 
who  would  heed  to  the  wooing  of  a  king 
an  he  were  not  called  a  king  ?  Such  love 
exists  only  in  the  dreams  of  bards  and 
idle  story-tellers." 

"Such  love,"  replied  Dazee,  with 
spirit,  "exists  in  the  great  world  of 
the  West;  such  love  and  none  other 
—  to  speak  of,"  she  added,  conscien 
tiously. 

"  And  could  a  daughter  of  that  happy 
land  stoop  to  mate  with  a  man  of  no 
lineage  or  station  or  worldly  wealth? 
I  cannot  conceive  of  it." 


io8       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

"  Not  only  could  she,"  cried  the  seer- 
ess — "thousands,  nay,  millions  of  my 
fair  countrywomen  do  every  year." 

"And  they  are  happy?"  asked  the 
Bedouin,  eagerly. 

"Read  their  books,"  replied  Dazee, 
"and  thou  wilt  learn  that  they  all 
'live  happy  ever  afterwards.'  The 
phrase  is  so  common  that  no  story 
of  real  life  and  love  is  complete  with 
out  it." 

The  answer,  though  true,  was  not 
wholly  ingenuous,  but  the  speaker  felt 
that  the  fame  of  her  country  and  its 
literature  was  at  stake  and  that  she 
was  justified  in  upholding  it. 

The  effect  on  the  Bedouin  was  re 
markable.  Rising  and  taking  her  hand, 
he  said,  solemnly,  "Then  I,  Depas,  the 
Bedouin,  take  thee,  Dazee,  to  be 
my—" 

"Nay,  nay,"  cried  Dazee,  withdraw 
ing  her  hand  hastily.  "  I  said  not  that 
all  maidens  accepted  their  suitors. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      109 

And  even  were  it  so,  '  this  is  so  sudden ' 
—another  stereotyped  phrase,  by-the- 
way — but  when  a  maiden  of  my  coun 
try  loves  a  man,  she  weds  him,  if  she 
can;  that  is  all." 

"Then  thou  dost  not  love  me?"  in 
quired  the  Bedouin,  in  dismay. 

"  I  am  deeply  sorry  if  thou  hast  so 
misunderstood  the  feeling  which  I  have 
cherished  towards  thee,"  was  Dazee's 
kind  reply.  "  I  am  not  the  mistress  of 
mine  own  heart,  else  might  I  think  more 
favorably  of  the  honor  which  thou  hast 
offered  me."  She  sighed.  "I  will  not 
deny,"  she  said,  modestly,  "that  I  am 
strangely  attracted  towards  thee.  It 
seemeth  as  though  I  had  known,  and, 
mayhap,  loved  thee  in  another  life. 
Such  thoughts  come  to  us  unbidden. 
Perchance  they  are  shadowy  memories 
of  a  former  existence." 

The  Bedouin's  face  fell.  "  Thy  heart 
is  not  thine  own,"  he  said.  "  Happy  is 
he  beyond  the  seas  who  owneth  such  a 


no       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

jewel.  But  if  it  be  so,  how  cometh  it 
that  thou  and  he  are  parted?  Doth  he 
not  love  thee?" 

"  Ask  me  not,"  she  cried ; "  it  is  not  for 
a  modest  maiden  to  speak  of  hopeless 
love.  For  such  is  mine."  She  con 
tinued,  somewhat  irrelevantly :  "  Bid  me 
not  confess  that  I  have  bestowed  my 
hopeless  affection  on  one  who,  alas!  is 
farther  from  me  than  all  the  width  of 
the  seas.  Yet  I  love  him,  and  though  I 
may  not  speak  of  it,  even  to  myself,  he 
is  as  far  above  me  in  station  as  the  stars 
above  the  earth." 

"What!"  cried  the  Bedouin.  "Ah! 
I  understand.  Thou  lovest  the  king." 

Dazee  was  silent. 

"  And  thou  wilt  tell  him  that  I  am  his 
enemy?" 

"Leave  me!"  cried  Dazee,  with  sud 
den  sternness.  "Go!  Thy  life  is  safe. 
But  beware  how  thou  speakest  treason  to 
other  ears  than  mine.  Yes,"  she  cried, 
proudly,  "  I  avow  the  truth ;  and  if  thou 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      in 

be  a  true  man,  as  I  respect  thy  secret,  so 
thou  wilt  mine.  Or  if  thou  be  base 
enough  to  betray,  go,  do  thy  worst,  for 

"I  LOVE  THE  KING!" 


The  Ingenious    Stratagem    of 
King  Sap'ed 

The  people  of  Chimerica  are  the 
freest  in  the  world  :  they  are  allowed 
to  choose  their  own  robbers. — The  Sage 
of  the  Bosphorus. 

HE  Bedouin  went  away  without 
making  any  promise ;  but  some 
thing  told  her  that  he  would  not 
abuse  her  confidence.  He  had 
borne  his  disappointment  with 
native  courtesy  and  the  fatalism  of  his 
race.  "  I  do  not  remember  having  ever 
before  refused  a  man  who  took  it  ex 
actly  in  that  way,"  she  mused;  but  on 
reflection  she  could  not  remember  hav 
ing  ever  refused  any  man;  so  she  re 
frained  from  invidious  comparisons. 

112 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       113 

Early  next  morning  she  received  a 
courteous  message,  saying  that  his  Maj 
esty  would  be  graciously  pleased  to  pay 
her  a  visit  at  the  hour  of  noon.  Some 
how,  since  the  secret  of  her  love  had 
been  surprised  by  another,  she  was 
strangely  self-conscious  and  distressed 
at  the  thought  of  meeting  its  object 
again  face  to  face.  "Whatever  hap 
pens,"  she  thought,  "he  must  not  sus 
pect  the  truth." 

So,  outwardly  calm,  but  with  sorely 
agitated  heart,  she  greeted  the  sovereign 
with  more  than  ordinary  reverence. 
He  also  was  unusually  grave,  as  one  con 
templating  a  serious  step. 

Dazee  in  her  sympathy  forgot  the 
etiquette  of  court  enough  to  speak 
first.  "  My  lord  is  distressed,"  she  said. 
"Can  his  handmaiden  be  of  help  in  dis 
pelling  his  anxiety?" 

"  Not  by  any  of  thy  mystic  spells,  I 
fear,"  he  answered  with  a  sad  smile. 
"  Mine  is  not  a  case  for  the  powers  of 


ii4      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

air.  'Tis  a  common  trouble,  they  say, 
albeit  I  have  not  found  its  fellow  in 
mine  own  experience  hitherto." 

"Will  my  lord  pardon  me,"  said 
Dazee,  "for  asking  him  if  he  hath  fol 
lowed  the  injunction  of  his  leeches  in  all 
respects?  For,  no  matter  how  wise  the 
physician,  or  how  powerful  his  medica 
ments,  if  the  patient — 

"  Tush,  child !"  said  the  king.  "  Mine 
is  no  bodily  ill." 

"Then,  if  it  be  worldly  loss  or  dan 
ger?" 

"  Nay,  nor  that.  It  is  not  any  one  of 
the  many  risks  against  which  thou  and 
thy  supernatural  underwriters  thought 
fully  insure  that  troubleth  me.  Thine 
armory  hath  no  protection  for  me;  yet 
is  none  elsewhere.  I  am  not  threat 
ened  with  loss  or  danger  to  health  or 
wealth,  from  which  it  is  thy  lofty  mis 
sion  to  protect  poor  humanity.  Yet  I 
come  to  thee  because  I  lack  that  with 
out  which  health  is  lingering  pain, 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      115 

wealth  a  mockery  of  want,  and  happi 
ness  a  vision  of  the  unattainable." 

"Ah,"  cried  Dazee,  "I  understand. 
Thine  august  appetite  hath  lost  its 
royal  alacrity,  and  the  pleasures  of  the 
table  no  longer  delight  thy  refined  and 
beautiful  palate." 

There  was  such  a  blending  of  tender 
anxiety  and  dawning  hope  on  her  in 
genuous  countenance  that  the  king,  so 
far  from  being  offended  by  the  prosaic 
suggestion,  was  rather  delighted  at  her 
sweet  candor. 

"  Not  so,  gentle  physician,"  he  said, 
with  a  smile,  "though  indeed  thou  art 
not  wholly  mistaken,  since  of  a  truth 
I  cannot  say  whether  my  appe 
tite  be  good  or  ill,  or  if  it  exists  at 
all." 

"Then  surely  is  my  lord's  sacred  di 
gestion  not  as  it  should  be,"  cried  the 
maid,  in  distress.  "  If  thou  wilt  follow 
my  humble  advice — 

"It  is  why  I  have  come  here,"  said 


n6       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

Sap'ed ;  "  but  I  would  have  more  of  thee 
than  advice." 

"  All  that  I  have,  and  am,  are  at  the 
disposal  of  my  lord,"  said  Dazee,  in  ac 
cents  of  unmistakable  sincerity. 

"Enough!"  cried  his  Majesty,  catch 
ing  her  in  his  arms  as  he  spoke.  "  I 
take  thee  at  thy  word,  thee  and  all  thou 
hast  and  art." 

Fortunate  it  was  that  the  king's 
strong  arms  were  about  her,  for  the 
maiden  had  fainted  as  the  meaning  of 
his  words  dawned  upon  her.  She  lay,  a 
lovely  burden,  in  a  deep  swoon  which 
lasted  some  moments,  the  while  her 
royal  lover  gazed  upon  her  with  a  rapt 
urous  look  which  cannot  be  described 
in  words,  being  wholly  above  and  un 
connected  with  any  mental  process. 

But  when  she  awoke  to  a  realization 
of  her  position  she  hung  her  lovely  head 
until  he  gently  raised  it,  suffused  with 
rosy  blushes. 

"  Oh,  what  have  I  said — what  have  I 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       117 

done  unmaidenly,  before  my  noble  lord 
and  king?" 

"  Naught  said,  naught  done,  unworthy 
her  whom  the  king  would  fain  make  his 
queen."  He  soothed  her  agitation. 
"  Tell  me  but  that  thou  art  happy,  and 
make  me  so  beyond  any  king  on  earth." 

Yet  was  the  maid  so  wonder-stricken 
and  fearful  that  it  was  all  he  could  do 
to  reassure  her  and  bring  her  to  con 
sider  seriously  of  his  noble  desire;  and 
when  she  was  at  last  persuaded  she  but 
sighed  the  more  grievously,  saying: 

"  The  honor  is  too  lofty  for  poor  little 
me,  alone — ah,  so  alone! — in  this  strange 
but  fair  land.  Give  me,  my  lord,  time 
to  think  it  all  over,  for  I  would  not 
wrong  thee  by  saying  yea  ere  my  heart 
told  me  that  it  knew  not  the  meaning  of 
nay,  as  it  surely  doth  not.  Yet  'tis  a 
fearful  responsibility  and  must  give  me 
pause,  so  that  I  err  not,  even  by  over- 
loving." 

The  king  laughed  with  playful  malice. 

8 


n8       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

"Thou  didst  not  need  so  long  space 
to  answer  the  Bedouin  but  yester 
eve." 

"What!"  she  exclaimed.  "Hath  he 
then  betrayed  my  trust?  Methought 
he  was  made  of  truer  stuff.  Alas !  I  am 
but  a  foolish  child,  and  pinned  my  faith 
to  his  seemingly  frank  countenance  and 
smooth-sounding  words.  And  yet"- 
she  paused,  and  her  voice  bespoke  a 
little  disappointment — "  he  was  so  noble 
and  handsome  withal  that  I  had  per 
chance  trusted  him  overmuch  had  my 
heart  been  mine  own  to  give." 

"Oh,  fairest  and  sweetest,"  cried  the 
king,  as  he  clasped  her  again  to  his 
bosom,  "such  trust  as  thine  was  not 
misplaced ;  nor  did  thy  loving  heart  err 
enough  to  deserve  even  the  least  disap 
pointment.  Look  up,  my  rosebud  of 
Damascus,  and  behold  thy  Bedouin 
lover!" 

"Where?  Where?"  she  cried,  in  dis 
may,  and  clung  the  closer  to  the  king. 


u9 

"Here,  mine  own!  Thou  art  in  his 
arms ;  for  I  am  both — the  Bedouin  and 
the  king.  'Twas  a  little  fancy  of  mine 
own  to  try  thy  heart.  Depas  is  but 
Sap'ed  transposed,  a  pretty  conceit  and 
novel — eh,  sweetest?" 

Dazee  would  have  swooned  again  had 
not  the  merry  conceit  aroused  her  sense 
of  humor  so  much  that  she  was  forced 
to  laugh  almost  hysterically,  and  told 
him  so.  Whereat  his  Majesty  was  more 
pleased  than  ever,  and  could  not  suffi 
ciently  admire  her  appreciative  keen 
ness  of  mind,  than  which  nothing  is 
more  esteemed  by  persons  of  wit;  nor 
is  it  disdained  by  humorous  royalty  it 
self.  Then,  with  infinite  tact  and  sweet 
ness,  the  seeress  begged  to  be  allowed 
to  consult  with  her  mother  ere  she  gave 
him  the  final  answer  which  her  fond 
heart  dictated.  "But,"  she  said,  "the 
demands  of  duty  take  precedence  of  all 
others.  My  mother  loves  me  too  well 
to  forbid  my  heart's  happiness;  but 


i2o       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

thou  wilt  not  love  me  the  less  for  await 
ing  her  consent?" 

That  he  loved  her  all  the  more  was 
evident  from  his  glance  of  trusting  af 
fection;  and  he  went  away  rejoicing 
that  he  had  at  last  found  one  for  whom 
he  was  willing  to  risk  the  greatest  be 
reavement  possible  to  his  truly  royal 
nature. 


XI 


Dazee  and  Her  Property 
Mother 

"The  laws  of  Allah  are  wrong,"  said 
the  man  who  suffered  from  breaking 
them.  "The  north  star  is  out  of  its 
course,"  said  the  mariner  whose  com 
pass  was  out  of  order. — Abulfeda  the 
Epicure. 


AW,"  said  Dazee,  an  hour  later,  af 
ter  the  property  mother  had  set 
the  house  in  order  for  the  night, 
it  being  one  of  the  seven  even 
ings  on  which  the  domestic 
exercised  the  immemorial  privilege  of 
absenting  herself  from  the  mansion— 
"maw,  you  know  that  Arab  doctor,  the 
brunette  gentleman  who  has  been  com 
ing  here  the  last  day  or  two?" 
"Yes,  dear." 

121 


122       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

"  Well,  I  am  going  to  marry  him.  At 
least,  he  has  asked  me  to." 

"Well,  dear,  whatever  you  say;  but  I 
thought  you  wasn't  partial  to  colored 
people,  as  a  general  thing." 

"He  isn't  colored,  as  you  call  it, 
mother.  He  is  an  Arab,  and  the  same 
complexion  as  all  of  his  countrymen— 
a  sort  of  Creole." 

"Well,  dear,  whatever  you  please," 
said  the  mother;  "only  he  seems  to  be 
pretty  dusky  for  one  of  them.  His  hair 
is  not  particulary  curly;  maybe  he  has 
some  Indian  blood,  too." 

"Mother,"  said  Dazee,  impatiently, 
"you  weary  me.  He  is  not  a  colored 
man  nor  an  Indian,  but  a  pure-blooded 
Arab,  the  proudest  people  in  the  world." 

"  Then  he  is  poor,  of  course,"  said  the 
elder  lady.  "I  notice  that  folks  who 
can't  afford  anything  else  generally 
have  lots  of  pride.  It  costs  nothing, 
and  it's  worth  it." 

Dazee  was  amused;  but,  concealing 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       123 

her  feelings,  went  on:  "He  didn't  tell 
me  whether  he  was  or  not,  and  I  couldn't 
well  ask  him." 

"Of  course  not;  but  you  could  find 
out,  or  put  him  off  until  you  could  have 
him  looked  up  in  the  mercantile 
agency." 

"  I  did  put  him  off,  mother,  at  least 
for  a  day  or  two,  though  I  could  see  he 
was  not  used  to  it." 

"Used  to  it?  I  hope  not.  A  man 
doesn't  have  many  chances  of  getting 
used  to  a  thing  like  that." 

"  No,  but  he  has  had  some  experiences, 
I  believe." 

"How  do  you  mean?  Has  he  been 
married  before?" 

"Yes." 

"So  he  is  a  widower,  is  he?  Better 
look  out  for  him,  my  dear.  Men  of  that 
kind  think  they  know  all  about  it. 
They  are  like  the  fox  that  lost  his  fore- 
paw  in  a  trap,  and  the  next  time  he 
saw  one  he  said  to  himself,  '  I  ain't  go- 


124       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ing  to  be  caught  twice  in  the  same 
way.'" 

"How  did  he  escape  it?" 

"He  didn't.  He  only  put  his  hind- 
paw  in  this  time." 

Dazee  joined  cheerfully  in  the  inno 
cent  mirth,  knowing  that  her  trusty 
friend  had  numbered  a  widower  among 
her  matrimonial  experiences.  Then  she 
said:  "But  I  haven't  told  you  that  he 
was  a  widower.  In  fact,  he  is  not.  His 
wives  are  all  alive  and  well." 

"Wives?  All?  Surely  you  would  not 
think  of  marrying  a  man  with  more  wives 
than  one,  even  if  they  are  divorced?" 

"Why  not?"  said  Dazee,  boldly. 
"  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  have  not 
been  divorced.  Oh,  mother,  can't  you 
understand  that  we  are  not  living  in 
Newport  or  South  Dakota?  This  is  a 
polygamous  land,  wherein  a  man  has  a 
right  to  be  married  simultaneously,  in 
stead  of  consecutively,  in  the  American 
fashion." 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      125 

But  the  property  mother  shook  her 
head  sadly.  She  was  old-fashioned  and 
possessed  of  the  obsolete  idea  that,  no 
matter  how  often  one  got  married,  it 
was  not  exactly  delicate  to  do  so  with 
out  the  form  of  a  judicial  decree.  She 
was  a  stickler  for  the  conventionalities. 

"  But,  maw,"  remonstrated  the  seer- 
ess,  "  this  gentleman  can  afford  to  have 
a  dozen  wives  —  a  hundred  if  he  likes. 
Oh,  maw,  I  cannot  keep  the  glad  secret 
any  longer  from  you.  He,  my  lover, 
is  —  what  do  you  think?  —  he  is  the 
king!" 

"  I  thought  you  were  talking  of  the 
Arab  doctor — what  do  you  call  him?" 
said  the  mother,  in  a  slow,  puzzled 
way. 

"  So  I  was,  maw — so  I  was.  But  the 
doctor  and  the  king  are  the  same  man. 
Don't  you  understand?  It  was  a  little 
joke  on  his  part,  just  to  try  me.  But  I 
saw  through  it  from  the  first.  Of  course 
I  did  not  let  on.  Of  course  I  never 


i26      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

will.  You  be  very  careful  to  keep  dark, 
too,  mother." 

"  Yes,  but  is  he  going  to  keep  dark — 
dark  as  he  is  now,  I  mean?  He  is  a 
well-looking  man  in  other  ways;  but  I 
don't  like  the  idea  of  marrying  a  man  of 
color.  And  his  other  wives,  are  they 
black,  too?" 

"  Mother,  he  isn't  black.  His  neck  is 
white  enough,  for  I  saw  it  when  his  col 
lar  slipped  down  the  first  day  he  called. 
He  only  just  made  up  for  an  Arab. 
And  his  name,  Depas,  is  only  his  real 
name  spelled  backward;  S-A-P-'E-D — 
D-E-P-A-S,  see?" 

"Depas  —  mf!  Well,  he  is  deep 
enough.  I  won't  say  anything  about 
the  rest  of  it.  But  what  about  the 
pirate  captain?  Won't  he  be  likely  to 
object?  And  I  thought  you  and  he  had 
another  sort  of  job  on  hand  when  you 
came  here?" 

"Ah,  mother,  it  is  that  which  troub 
les  me  to-night.  It  is  true  that  in  my 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      127 

grief  over  our  disappointment  about  the 
Italian  prince,  who  turned  out  to  be 
anything  but  princely,  I  listened  too 
thoughtlessly  to  the  beguiling  words  of 
the  captain.  You  know  how  he  met 
us  at  the  Casino;  how  he  introduced 
himself  with  sweet  speech  and  empty 
compliments;  how,  smarting  with 
wounded  pride,  and  having  no  avail 
able  funds,  I  listened  to  his  vows  and 
promised  to  share  his  fortunes — to  be 
come  one  day  his  bride.  You  know, 
too,  what  those  fortunes  were  and  are — 
pitiful,  piratical,  precarious.  But  you 
do  not  know  how  bitterly  he  has  de 
ceived  us.  He,  the  monster  of  false 
hood,  is  not  the  plain,  honest  corsair 
that  he  passes  for  in  the  world's  eyes. 
I  learned  the  truth  about  his  black  ca 
reer  during  the  days  we  were  on  the 
ship,  when,  to  while  away  the  tedious 
hours  of  sea-sickness,  I  glanced  through 
some  documents  in  his  desk.  Little  did 
I  think  when  I  began  reading  those  ap- 


128      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

parently  harmless  and  private  papers, 
that  they  contained  the  damning  record 
of  a  life  devoted  to  the  most  subtle  and 
far-reaching  plans  of  evil-doing. 

"  Do  not  ask  me  what  they  were, 
mother.  I  shudder  to  recall  them. 
But  tell  me,  from  your  wise  and  loving 
counsel,  how  I  am  to  free  myself  of  the 
loathsome  promise  extorted  from  my 
young  and  trusting  heart,  and  how  I  am 
to  save  the  noble  monarch  and  his  brave 
people  from  impending  doom.  Woe  is 
me,  that  I  have  been  made  an  unwitting 
agent  for  its  accomplishment!" 

Dazee's  mother  was  deeply  moved  by 
her  child's  anguish.  "Tell  me,  child," 
she  said,  "do  you  love  the  king?  Or 
the  captain  ?  Either  or  neither,  or  both 
-which?" 

"Why,  mother!  Have  I  not  just 
told  you  that  the  king  has  proposed  to 
me?  Are  you  an  American,  and  ask 
me  'which'?  But  I  forget.  There  is 
something  more  than  mortal  love  to 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       129 

think  of — the  genie's  curse.  Can  I 
brave  its  power  by  wedding  the  king? 
And  if  I  wed  him,  and  the  curse  fall  not 
on  me,  will  his  love  survive  the  test?" 

Then,  for  the  first  time,  did  the  prop 
erty  mother  learn  the  full  story  of  the 
dread  imprecation.  She  shuddered,  not 
so  much  because  she  feared  for  Dazee's 
life  as  for  the  alternative  results.  She 
was  not  familiar  with  the  ways  of  kings, 
but  she  had  abiding  faith  in  the  truth 
of  the  maxim  that  "there  is  a  lot  of 
human  nature  in  folks — just  as  much 
as  there  is  in  anybody." 

"If  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst," 
she  said,  "the  king  can  wait  a  day  or 
two.  The  captain  can  wait,  or  you  can 
make  him;  but  that  curse,  it  seems  to 
me,  is  liable  to  get  in  its  work  on  time. 
In  your  place  I  should  find  out  a  little 
more  about  it  before  I  went  any  further 
in  the  business.  I  am  not  superstitious 
nor  anything,  but  I  always  believe  that 
if  you  don't  walk  under  a  ladder,  you 


130       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ain't  liable  to  be  killed  by  having  it  fall 
on  you." 

Dazee,  who  was  also  singularly  eman 
cipated  from  the  trammels  of  supersti 
tion,  nevertheless  had  a  profound  re 
spect  for  her  elder's  wisdom  in  super 
natural  matters,  and  made  up  her  mind 
to  see  the  genie  himself  next  day. 


XII 


A  Modern  Genie  of  Punctu 
al  Habits 

Alexander  the  Great  wept  because 
there  were  no  more  worlds  to  con 
quer.  He  had  then  conquered  about 
fifteen  per  cent,  of  one  planet;  with 
•  all  America  and  several  hundred  pre 
cincts  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  yet 
to  be  heard  from.  Alexander  was  born 
too  soon. — Reflections  of  Timour  Beg. 

HE  first  thing  to  be  done,"  she 
said,  as  she  finished  her  morn 
ing  repast,  "is  to  find  the  genie. 
Maw,  will  you  please  look  up 
his  address  in  the  directory- 
El  Hatem,  the  genie." 

The  mother  took  the  volume.  "El 
Hatem,"  she  said.  "  F  -  G  -  H  —  why, 
there  isn't  any  H  in  the  book!" 

"Nonsense,"  said  Dazee;  "of  course 
there  is.  Oh,  hand  it  here,  mother. 


132       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

You  are  so  stupid."  She  ran  through 
the  leaves  hastily.  "  Why,  sure  enough, 
there  isn't!  How  is  it?  Oh,  I  see"— 
she  turned  to  the  title-page — " '  Printed 
in  London;'  that  explains  it.  Let  us 
look  in  the  E's."  And  there  she  found 
it,  "  El  Hatem,  genie  (retired),  32  Mystic 
Terrace,  Suite  6,  Elf  land,  S.E." 

Dazee  knew  enough  of  the  ways  of 
mortals  to  know  that  a  retired  gentle 
man  of  any  sort  is  the  most  fussy  of 
beings  in  regard  to  time  and  habits. 
Having  absolutely  nothing  to  do,  he  is 
prone  to  consult  his  watch  every  hour 
or  so  to  see  if  it  is  time  for  doing  it.  He 
must  have  his  meals  punctually  at  the 
tick  of  the  clock,  and  he  is  deeply  indig 
nant  whenever  a  ship  or  a  train,  by 
which  he  is  not  travelling  and  never  in 
tends  travelling,  is  late  in  its  comings  or 
goings.  He  writes  to  the  papers  about 
it.  He  counts  the  minutes  he  spends  in 
shaving,  in  dressing,  in  waiting  for  the 
time  to  go  nowhere  and  do  nothing. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       133 

He  is  always  afraid  his  own  funeral  will 
be  too  late.  It  always  is.  Therefore 
she  carefully  consulted  the  card  outside 
the  genie's  apartments  and  noted  with 
.satisfaction  that  it  read,  "Hours,  12  to 
12.30."  It  was  exactly  12.10  when  she 
touched  the  electric  bell. 

She  found  him  at  home,  at  his  desk, 
attired  in  the  striking  costume  usually 
worn  by  genii  of  that  country  moving 
in  good  society.  She  apologized  grace 
fully  for  the  intrusion,  and  he  waved 
her  to  a  chair,  muttering  what  might 
pass  for  a  deprecating  remark.  She 
began:  "I  have  called  to  consult  thee 
about  a  matter  in  which  I  am  interested, 
being  in  my  humble  way  a  student  and 
practitioner  of  the  occult." 

Here  she  handed  him  her  card.  He 
took  it  and  looked  at  his  watch. 

"I  called  to  consult  thee,  illustrious 
sir,"  she  said,  "in  regard  to  a  certain 
anathema,  or,  as  the  ignorant  call  it, 
curse,  connected  with  his  Majesty  King 


134       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

Sap'ed,    with   whom    I   have   had   the 
honor  of  some  professional  dealings." 

"Well?"  said  the  genie,  with  irritat 
ing  equanimity.  "What  is  it?" 

"  I  only  wished  to  learn,"  said  Dazee, 
restraining  her  indignation,  "if  it  is  still 
operative — that  is  to  say,"  she  contin 
ued,  noticing  a  frown  on  the  genie's 
countenance,  "whether  it  has  expired 
by  limitation  or — the  'statute  of  fraud,' 
I  think  they  call  it." 

The  genie's  frown  grew  deeper.  He 
reached  to  a  shelf  above  the  desk  and 
took  from  it  an  ancient  volume  bound 
with  steel  and  marked  "Curses,  vol. 
clxiii.,  R-S."  He  turned  the  leaves 
rapidly,  and  paused  at  a  column  under 
the  initial  "S."  "It  is  all  right,"  he 
said,  closing  the  volume  with  a  slam. 
"The  Sap'ed  curse  is  good  for  two  gen 
erations  yet." 

"But,  my  dear  El  Hatem,"  remon 
strated  the  visitor,  "it  is  not  all  right, 
but  emphatically  all  wrong.  The  male- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      135 

diction  in  question — is — is  it? — I  mean, 
cannot  it  be  modified,  or  revised,  or  re 
pealed  in  some  way?  It  was  issued  so 
very  long  ago ;  and,  pardon  me,  but  art 
thou  quite  —  quite  sure  that  it  was 
wholly  regular?  I  don't  know  much 
about  such  things,  of  course,  but  I  have 
been  assured  that  it  expired  by  limita 
tion,  or  whatever  they  call  it,  long  ago. 
Thou  wilt  excuse  my  ignorance,  I  am 
sure;  but  it  sometimes  happens,  not 
through  any  fault  of  the  artist,  of  course, 
but  through  the  ingredients  not  being 
properly  compounded — servants  are  so 
careless,  even  the  best  of  them — they 
run  out — I  mean  the  curses,  not  the 
servants,  for  they  always  do."  Here 
the  fair  creature's  breath  ran  out  also 
for  a  minute  while  she  paused  to  smile 
wanly  at  the  genie,  who  reciprocated 
with  a  cold  stare. 

"I'll  take  care  of  that,"  he  said, 
sternly.  "I'll  take  particular  care  of 
it,  this  time.  That  curse,  madam,  is 


136       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

hereby  extended  for  the  term  of  six  gen 
erations  longer." 

Then  was  Dazee's  American  spirit 
aroused  in  turn.  She  got  up  from  her 
chair.  "You  may  extend  it,"  she  said, 
dropping  the  formal "  thou"  and  "  thee," 
"  till  it  goes  back  home  to  the  first  pre 
cinct  of  perdition;  but  I  tell  you,  right 
now,  that  it  won't  work.  It  has  not 
worked  for  over  fifty  years.  I  don't 
believe  it  was  ever  built  to  work,  any 
more  than  a  common  -  councilman  is. 
The  batteries  must  have  given  out," 
she  added,  with  a  sneer. 

The  genie  turned  pale.  "  What  mean 
est  thou?"  he  asked,  hoarsely. 

"Just  what  I  say.  Look  at  the  case 
of  the  queen-mother.  She  married  the 
old  king  while  your  blank-cartridge 
curse  was  fizzing  and  sputtering  right 
along;  and  did  she  die?  Is  she  dead 
now?  Does  she  even  look  dead?" 

"She  never  loved  him,"  stammered 
the  genie. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      137 

"  Well,  I  should  just  like  to  know  how 
you  know  anything  about  it.  Do  the 
little  lovey-doveys  of  marital  happiness 
come  and  whisper  such  secrets  in  your 
leathery  old  ears?" 

The  genie  was  visibly  disturbed  by 
such  an  unusual  style  of  argument ;  but 
he  shook  his  head  obstinately  and  again 
murmured,  "She  never  loved  him." 

"Now,  isn't  that  just  like  a  man?" 
exclaimed  Dazee,  in  disgust.  "  Because 
you  think  that  she  would  die  if  she  loved 
him ;  and  because  even  you  can  see  that 
she  has  not  died,  you  go  and  put  the 
cart  before  the  horse,  as  every  man  does. 
If  she  didn't  love  him,  do  you  think  she 
would  have  thrown  over  for  him  the 
charming  giaour  music  -  teacher  on 
whom  she  fairly  doted,  else  all  the  court 
gossips  lie? 

"Or  the  handsome  young  prince  of 
Bessarabia,  whom  she  adored  so  that 
when  he  heard  of  her  engagement  to  the 
king  he  almost  committed  suicide? 


138       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

You  cannot  deny  that,  El  Hatem;  be 
cause  his  own  son  is  alive  to  testify  that 
he  has  heard  his  father  himself  say  so. 

"  Or  the  Grand  Vizier  of  Kahna-Waga, 
for  whose  sake  she — " 

But  the  genie  had  heard  enough.  He 
was  touched  in  his  most  tender  spot, 
his  professional  pride.  "Madam,"  he 
said,  coldly,  "  I  cannot  doubt  a  love  so 
faithful  and  versatile.  I  only  trust  that 
the  present  king  is  equally  favored. 
Nevertheless,  I  will  not  believe  that  a 
malediction  concocted  by  one  of  the 
most  eminent  and  reliable  demons  in 
the  business  hath  failed  in  a  single  in 
stance,  where  the  existing  conditions 
were  as  specified." 

"  Hold !"  cried  Dazee.  "  If  thou  hast 
a  reputation  to  sustain,  so  hath  Dazee, 
the  supreme  seeress  of  the  esoteric  Oc 
cident.  For  know,  El  Hatem,  that  I 
am  she.  I  am  also  she  who  is  to  be  the 
king's  next  bride.  Wouldst  dare  go 
back  on  the  mystic  brotherhood  to 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       139 

which,  as  I  see  by  the  button  on  thy 
lapel,  thou  and  I  both  belong?" 

She  pointed  to  the  golden  badge  of 
the  I.  W.  U. — that  is  to  say,  the  Inter 
national  Wizard's  Union,  of  which  he 
had  become  a  zealous  member  on  re 
tiring  from  active  life. 

"  Dost  expect  me  to  undo  a  maledic 
tion  made  ere  thou  wert  born?"  he 
asked,  testily.  "What  mattereth  it  to 
thee,  if  thou  knowest  that  a  future 
king  of  Gallimatia  may  bless  thy  mem 
ory,  generations  hence,  when  the  curse 
hath  run  its  course?  Bethink  thee  of 
the  beautiful  maid  who  loved  and  died, 
and  begged  of  Azrael  to  let  her  return 
to  earth  and  comfort  her  mourning 
lover,  and  how  her  prayer  was  granted, 
and  how,  when  she  came  back,  she 
found  him  beside  a  fair  damsel,  who 
caressed  and  consoled  him  with  kisses." 

Dazee  compressed  her  lips  and  asked, 
"And  what  did  she  then?" 

"I  know  not,"  answered  El  Hatem; 


140      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

"but  doubtless  she  was  rejoiced  to  see 
him  happy." 

"  I'll  tell  thee  what  I  should  do,"  she 
said. 

"What  wouldst  thou  do?" 

"I'd  take  out  my  halo-pin  and  let 
her  have  it,  up  to  the  knob." 

"Then  thou  lovest  not  the  king," 
said  the  genie,  decisively. 

"  I  am  going  to  marry  him,"  she  said. 
"Come  to  the  palace  on  our  wedding- 
day,  and  thou  wilt  see  how  much  I  love 
him  and  care  for  thy  two-for-a-dirhem 
old  curses." 

"  Have  no  fear,"  said  the  genie,  stern 
ly,  "but  that  I  will  be  there  to  punish 
thy  proud  spirit.  There  is  naught  in 
earth  or  air  that  hath  power  to  save  thee 
except — 

"Except  what?"  she  asked,  eagerly. 

"Excuse  me,"  said  the  genie,  speak 
ing  and  rising  with  some  stiffness.  "  It 
is  now  12.30,  and  I  never  talk  business 
after  office-hours."  And  in  spite  of  all 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       141 

entreaty  and  cajolery,  he  was  firm  as  a 
rock,  or  a  retired  officer  of  any  kind, 
when  it  became  a  question  of  the  clock. 
So  she  was  forced  to  go  away  unsatis 
fied  but  assured  that  the  genie  would 
not  fail  to  attend  the  nuptials.  She 
promised  to  send  him  cards  for  the  cere 
mony  in  due  time. 


XIII 

The  Renegado  and  the  Pirate's 
Plot 

A  gun  is  handy  in  time  of  trouble, 
and  trouble  is  handy  where  there  is 
a  gun.  —  Woppajah  on  Comparative 
Causation. 


N  arriving  home,  she  found  the  gen 
eral  of  the  household  guards  await 
ing  her.     The   grizzled   warrior,  as 
has   already   been   hinted,  had  se 
cretly  cherished  for  the  fair  stran 
ger  an  admiration  which  his   long 
experience     of    Oriental     affairs     had 
taught    him    not    to    express    openly. 
Often   when   alone  with  Dazee  he  had 
been  tempted  to  avow  his  passion,  but 
he  received  no  encouragement  to  risk 
the  displeasure  of  his  royal  master  in 
142 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       143 

that  profitless  way.  When,  as  would 
sometimes  happen,  the  discourse  verged 
upon  tender  topics,  he  was  wont  to  sigh 
and  hint  darkly  at  a  blighted  life  and  a 
"  past"  which  had  driven  him  into  exile. 

Seeing  a  gloomy  expression  on  his 
broad  and  ordinarily  cheery  counte 
nance,  she  immediately  suspected  that 
he  was  in  one  of  his  rare  moods  of  de 
pression,  but  she  was  not  prepared  for 
the  cause  of  it.  He  told  her  abruptly, 
after  the  first  formal  greetings,  "  I  have 
a  message  from  Roota-Baaga  that  con 
cerns  you  and  me,  and  none  too  pleas 
antly,  I  am  thinking." 

"  From  whom  does  it  come,  and  what 
is  its  nature?"  inquired  Dazee. 

"From  your  old  friend,  the  captain 
of  yon  pirate  craft,  and  of  a  passionate, 
plundering  nature,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
classify  it,"  was  the  enigmatical  reply. 

"What  does  he  say?  What  does  he 
want?  Man,  this  is  no  time  to  deal  in 
riddles,"  cried  Dazee,  angrily. 


144       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

"He  says  that  he  remembers  you 
fondly,  and  trusts  that  you  have  not 
forgotten  your  compact,  for  he  will  be 
at  Roota-Baaga  on  the  morrow's  night 
with  all  his  forces,  to  fulfil  his  part  of 
it.  What  can  he  mean  ?  I  am  a  king's 
officer,  and  it  is  my  duty  to  know." 

There  was  a  ring  of  stern  resolve  in 
the  old  soldier's  voice  which  told  of  one 
who  would  not  betray  a  trust  lightly. 
He  had  his  memories  of  successful  revo 
lutionists  whose  gratitude  was  light 
enough  after  the  accomplished  fact. 

For  that  or  other  reasons,  Dazee  de 
termined  to  throw  herself  on  the  gener 
osity  of  the  frank  renegade.  But  first 
she  would  know  how  he  had  been  made 
a  confidant  of  the  usually  suspicious 
and  reticent  pirate. 

He  laughed  when  she  asked  him. 
"Why,  easy  enough."  He  exhibited 
an  opened  letter.  "  A  lad  in  sailor  garb 
called  and  left  this  an  hour  agone.  He 
said  it  was  very  important.  He  had 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       145 

been  indulging  in  the  pernicious  habit 
of  the  wine-cup,  I  think,  and  he  spoke 
so  freely  of  an  impending  visit  on  these 
coasts,  and  alluded  in  such  an  unguard 
ed  way  to  loot  and  things  of  that  evil  ilk, 
that  I  just  had  him  clapped  into  the  dun 
geon  till  I  could  consult  with  the  court 
or  your  sweet  self,  as  the  case  might 
be." 

"  And  you  opened  my  private  letter  ?" 

' '  Softly !  Softly !' '  quoth  the  warrior. 
"  I  will  not  say  that  I  opened  it,  precise 
ly.  Nor  will  I  say  that,  seeing  it  partly 
open,  mayhap  owing  to  some  drops  of 
the  sinful  juice  of  the  grape  incautiously 
spilled  on  it  by  the  wasteful  sea-dog,  I 
did  not  e'en  assist  nature,  belike,  fear 
ing  to  leave  it  around  loose  where  it 
might  fall  under  the  eyes  of  the  ill-con 
ditioned  and  suspicious." 

"Well,"  sighed  Dazee,  desperately, 
"and  what  does  it  say?" 

"It  says — but  it  is  not  becoming  to 
retail  the  contents  of  a  lady's  private 


146       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

correspondence.  Read  it  for  yourself, 
madam." 

He  handed  it  to  her  with  a  bow  and 
the  superfluous  formula,  "  Quite  excusa 
ble,  my  lady." 

Dazee  bit  her  lip  as  she  read.  When 
she  had  finished  she  turned  to  the  gen 
eral  with  a  trusting  look  in  her  lovely 
eyes.  "  What  am  I  to  do?" 

"Well,  ma'am,  since  you  take  me 
into  your  confidence  unsolicited,  I 
should  say,  make  a  clean  breast  of  it. 
Who  is  he?  And  what  is  his  game? 
He  is  a  bold  devil." 

So,  having  no  other  alternative,  she 
began:  "Does  anybody  else  know  of 
this — the  jailer  of  the  dungeon,  or  any 
of  his  guard?" 

"  Never  a  one,"  was  the  prompt  reply. 
"  The  jailer  and  his  men  know  me.  The 
sailor  man  is  drunk  asleep.  I  have  only 
to  say  the  word  and  he  never  wakes." 

"No,  no,"  she  cried,  hastily;  "he 
must  be  spared  to  carry  back  the  an- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       147 

swer.  I  will  tell  you  all.  The  captain 
of  that  piratical  craft  is  naught  to  me, 
save  as  a  stranger  wno  befriended  my 
self  and  mother  and  brought  us  hither; 
but  he  is  a  bad  man,  with  projects  of 
the  most  unbounded  ambition.  He 
came  to  Roota-Baaga  for  a  sinister  pur 
pose.  He  confided  his  plans  to  me,  and 
because  I  was  in  his  power  I  pretended 
to  agree  to  them. 

"  I  promised  to  come  to  the  capital, 
Babosa,  ingratiate  myself  with  the  reign 
ing  powers,  spy  out  the  land,  and  at  the 
proper  time  send  him  word  by  a  trusty 
messenger  whom  he  would  engage. 
Then  he  would  make  a  descent  on  the 
seaboard,  march  to  the  interior,  and 
make  himself  master  of  the  country. 

"  I  came  hither.  The  first  form  on 
which  my  eyes  fell — can  I  ever  forget 
the  vision? — was  your  own.  From  that 
moment  my  soul  revolted  more  than 
ever  against  the  infamous  plot,  but  I 
had  to  dissemble.  I  was  a  stranger  in  a 


148       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

strange  land,  young,  innocent,  and  un 
protected.  But  the  chivalry  of  Babosa 
saved  me  from  danger,  as  my  gratitude 
shall  save  Babosa.  Noble  soldier,  I 
thank  you  for  the  confidence  which  you 
have  reposed  in  me.  It  shall  not  be  for 
gotten  when  it  is  in  my  power  to  reward 
it  most  suitably." 

The  aura  of  coming  majesty  shone 
upon  her  face  as  she  spoke.  The  rene- 
gado  was  moved  almost  to  tears. 

"  By  my  sword,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I 
shall  not  fail  to  earn  the  guerdon! 
But,"  he  added,  after  a  pause,  "you 
spoke  of  a  time  when  you  might  have 
the  power  to — eh?" 

"Listen,"  she  said,  bending  to  whis 
per  in  his  ear,  "there  be  great  events 
brewing  for  this  kingdom.  The  king 
intends  taking  to  himself  another 
spouse.  Who  do  you  think  it  is?" 

"  Surely  I  know  not,"  said  the  general. 
"  I  am  not  in  the  way  of  hearing  court 
news.  Who  might  it  be?" 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       149 

"  Oh,  it  might  be  anybody,"  laughed 
Dazee,  "but  I  do  not  mind  telling  you, 
in  confidence,  it  will  be  a  lady  of  your 
own  race — one  whom  you  have  seen — 
who  has  seen  you,  and  can  never  for 
get  it." 

"  You  mean—  ?" 

"I  mean — myself." 

"Oh,  Daz — your  Majesty,  I  should 
say;  this  is  indeed  a  surprise;  and  I 
know  not  if  it  be  more  a  sad  or  a  glad." 

"Glad,  my  faithful  friend  —  glad; 
what  else?  When  I  am  Queen  of  Galli- 
matia,  think  you  that  the  mirror  of  Ori 
ental  chivalry  and  Occidental  valor  shall 
not  stand  high  in  the  palace?  This  is 
the  time  for  history-making  and  for 
tune-making,  and  who  shall  be  the 
makers,  if  not  the  children  of  the  wide, 
un weary  West?" 

His  hand  shot  out  involuntarily  for  a 
comrade  grasp,  and  when  he  would  have 
withdrawn  it  in  confusion  she  but  seized 
and  pressed  it  warmly. 


150      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

"Nay,  nay,  friend,"  she  cried;  "it  is 
the  pledge  of  our  compact.  But  now 
to  business.  You  must  release  the 
sailor,  when  he  is  sober  again,  and  de 
spatch  him  with  a  message  which  I  will 
write  and  show  to  you.  Give  me  time 
to  prepare  it.  After  that  we  must  strike 
for  freedom,  and  strike  hard." 

She  withdrew  to  write  the  missive. 
The  old  soldier,  with  his  brain  in  a  whirl 
of  conflicting  emotions,  meditated  on 
the  situation.  His  ambitions  at  bot 
tom  were  all  professional.  He  felt  that 
he  was  rather  old  to  enter  the  domain 
of  love.  He  had  been  unhappy  in  his 
first  great  passion,  and,  though  he  would 
have  wished  to  win  the  fair  seeress,  he 
had  long  ago  abandoned  hope  when  his 
king  appeared  in  the  lists.  Except 
when  much  moved  by  the  nameless 
feeling  of  depression  following  on  over 
indulgence  in  the  pleasures  of  the  table 
or  the  cup,  he  rather  took  a  melancholy 
comfort  in  dwelling  on  his  lone  lot  in 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       151 

life.  It  was  in  such  a  mood  that  he  now 
turned  to  the  piano,  struck  a  few  minor 
chords,  and  in  a  low,  rich  barytone, 
sang: 

"Oh,  I  have  loved  by  land  and  sea 
Fair  maids  of  high  and  low  degree, 
But  none  so  true  and  tenderly 

As  the  lass  of  Bonnie  Clabber. 

"But  love  is  like  the  melting  snaw; 
We  had  nae  siller  till  us  twa; 
And  so  I  sailed  awa',  awa', 

From  the  land  of  Bonnie  Clabber. 

"And  now  I'm  old  and  grim  and  gray 
But  love  still  holds  his  tender  sway, 
And  aye  I'd  give  a  half-week's  pay 
To  be  back  in  Bonnie  Clabber." 

As  the  last  notes  of  the  sad  plaint  died 
away,  Dazee  re-entered  with  an  open 
letter  in  her  hand,  which  the  general 
read,  nodding  his  approval,  sealed,  and 
placed  within  his  tunic. 

"  Tis  a  good  plan,"  he  said,  briefly. 
"  I  will  meet  you  to-morrow  at  Roota- 


152       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

Baaga,  when  I  shall  have  arranged  ev 
erything  with  the  keeper  of  the  light 
house.  Meanwhile,  I'll  send  the  bon- 
nie  sailor  lad  on  his  way  rejoicing.  You 
are  sure  the  captain  will  keep  his  tryst?" 

"  He  is  sure  to.  He  has  not  even  the 
virtue  of  unpunctuality." 

They  shook  hands  once  more,  and 
Dazee  was  left  alone  to  play  her  game 
against  fearful  odds. 


XIV 

A  Sea-Fight  and  Its  Hero  ? 


The  soldier  is  the  only  wild  animal 
that  does  not  eat  what  he  kills. — The 
Judgment  of  Jessups. 

AR  out  on  the  blue  waters  of  the 
Libyan  Gulf  the  pirate  ship  hov 
ered  like  an  eagle  poised  in  the 
ether,  intent  on  prey.  It  was 
early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day 
following  the  meeting  just  nar 
rated  ;  the  messenger  from  Dazee 
had  come  on  board  in  the  morning.  The 
captain  stood  on  his  quarter-deck,  sur 
rounded  by  a  group  of  officers  in  undress 
uniform.  An  orderly  approached,  and, 
saluting,  said :  "  Compliments  of  the  chief 
signal-officer,  sir,  and  he  reports  a  mes 
sage." 

153 


154       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

The  captain  stepped  to  the  signal- 
room,  where  the  officer  on  duty  stood 
beside  his  instrument,  and  intently 
scanned  the  message,  reading  aloud: 
"  British  steamship  Reliance,  Bombay 
to  Aden,  with  silks  and  bullion,  eleven 
days  out.  Latitude  42  N.,  longitude 
95  E." 

"Not  thirty  miles  away,"  mused  the 
captain.  "Answer  him:  'Egyptian 
dhow  Howajih,  Port  Said  to  Mecca,  with 
pilgrims.  Latitude  42,  longitude  94.30'; 
that  will  trap  him  all  right,  I  think." 

He  ordered  the  ship  to  be  headed  in 
the  direction  indicated  by  the  stranger, 
had  the  men  called  to  quarters,  and  di 
rected  that  ever}7"  preparation  be  made 
for  a  warm  meeting. 

In  little  less  than  an  hour  the  look 
out  aloft  reported  a  steamer's  smoke  on 
the  eastern  horizon.  A  few  minutes 
later  all  on  board  could  see  a  large 
steamer  coming  towards  them  at  full 
speed.  The  captain  surveyed  her  close- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       155 

ly  through  his  glass.  No  doubt  his  own 
ship  was  being  subjected  to  a  similar 
scrutiny,  for,  as  she  drew  nearer,  the 
stranger  put  her  helm  up  and  changed 
her  course  a  point  or  two. 

"Meet  her!  meet  her!"  commanded 
the  captain.  He  took  up  his  glass  again, 
closed  it  sharply,  and  cried  out:  "I 
thought  so.  Gentlemen,"  turning  to 
his  officers,  "yonder  is  our  deadly  ene 
my.  Look  at  the  star  on  her  funnel. 
Cast  loose  the  forward  pivot  there.  We 
are  going  to  pay  our  respects  to  the 
Helping  Hand." 

The  news  was  greeted  with  a  fierce 
cheer,  as  all  hands  sprang  to  their  posts, 
and  the  two  ships,  like  huge  blood 
hounds  slipped  from  the  leash,  rushed 
to  grapple  in  deadly  strife. 

"Now,  Mr.  Porgie,"  said  the  captain 
to  his  executive  officer,  "got  the  range 
there?  All  right!  Aim  low  and  hull 
her.  Fire!" 

A   sheet  of  flame  leaped   from  the 


156       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

mouth  of  the  long  pivot.  Ere  its  roar 
had  died  away  they  could  see  the  ball 
strike  close  to  the  bows  of  the  Hand, 
ricochet,  and  almost  graze  the  stran 
ger's  stem.  At  the  same  instant  they 
saw  the  Hand's  broad  pennant  run  up 
to  the  main.  Their  own  black  banner 
had  been  flapping  proudly  in  the  breeze 
ever  since  the  enemy  had  been  sighted. 

The  captain  frowned.  The  execu 
tive  officer  swore  at  the  captain  of  the 
gun.  "Never  mind,  Mr.  Porgie,"  said 
the  captain,  coolly.  "It  was  a  long 
shot.  Try  again." 

But  ere  he  could  obey,  a  discharge 
from  the  starboard  battery  of  the  enemy 
sent  a  hail  of  shot  whistling  among  the 
spars  of  the  Olive  Branch.  Little  dam 
age  was  done,  and  before  it  could  be  re 
peated  there  was  an  answering  broad 
side  from  the  secondary  battery  of  the 
pirate.  When  the  smoke  had  par 
tially  lifted  it  was  seen  that  the  top- 
hamper  of  the  enemy  was  badly  shat- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      157 

tered  and  her  decks  littered  with 
wreckage. 

"  Now  is  your  time,  Mr.  Porgie,"  said 
the  captain,  rubbing  his  hands,  and  at 
the  word  the  pivot  spoke  again,  this 
time  with  good  effect.  The  shot  had 
disabled  the  propeller  and  steering-gear 
of  the  enemy.  The  Help-ing  Hand  lay 
crippled  under  the  battery  of  the  Olive 
Branch. 

"  Shall  we  lay  her  aboard,  sir?"  asked 
the  executive  officer. 

"No,"  replied  the  captain,  slowly. 
"  It  might  entail  needless  sacrifice  of 
life.  Better  lie  off  a  few  cables'  lengths 
and  let  the  men  have  some  target  prac 
tice.  Rake  her,  of  course,  steaming 
slowly  athwart  her  stern." 

The  order  was  obeyed.  Although 
the  Hand's  ensign  had  come  down,  and 
a  white  flag  was  flying  at  her  peak,  the 
pirates  paid  no  heed,  but,  steaming 
slowly  back  and  forth  for  about  a  quar 
ter  of  an  hour,  exercised  their  batteries 


1 58       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

and  small-arms  in  a  merciless  slaughter 
of  the  helpless  foe. 

No  answering  shots  came  back,  and 
the  captain,  sitting  on  the  bridge,  lei 
surely  directed  his  men  in  firing,  now 
at  the  hull,  again  at  the  rigging,  and 
occasionally  on  the  few  terrified  ene 
mies  who  showed  themselves  on  the 
deck  of  the  stricken  prey. 

Suddenly  he  leaped  to  his  feet  with 
an  imprecation.  "The  treacherous  ruf 
fians!"  he  exclaimed — "flying  the  white 
flag  and  trying  to  torpedo  us !"  He  rang 
for  the  engines,  and  immediately  the 
Olive  Branch  began  to  back  rapidly,  as 
a  sharp  ripple  on  the  water  astern  of 
the  Hand  showed  the  track  of  a  torpedo 
beneath. 

The  missile  went  wide,  but  it  was  ap 
parent  that  the  enemy  was  about  to 
launch  another. 

The  captain  pointed  solemnly  to  the 
stern  of  the  Helping  Hand,  where  the 
torpedo-tube  was  plainly  visible.  "  Such 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       159 

miscreants,"  he  said,  in  honest  indig 
nation,  "violate  every  law  of  warfare. 
They  deserve  no  quarter.  Let  us  end 
this  child's  play,  and  teach  them  to  re 
spect  the  customs  of  civilized  nations." 

The  men  needed  no  further  encourage 
ment  to  do  their  duty.  Broadside  after 
broadside  crashed  into  the  doomed  craft, 
on  whose  gun  -  deck  a  few  desperate 
wretches  had  yet  enough  courage  left 
to  fire  a  feeble  shot  or  two  from  their 
stern-chasers. 

Suddenly  the  victim  was  seen  to  set 
tle.  Her  prow  rose  high  in  air,  wa 
vered  a  moment,  then  with  majestic 
slowness  the  Helping  Hand  sank  for 
ever  beneath  the  wave. 

As  soon  as  the  last  vestige  of  the  sink 
ing  craft  had  vanished,  the  captain 
spoke  to  his  signal-officer. 

"  Call  up  the  nearest  wireless  station 
of  the  Associated  Press  in  an  hour.  I 
shall  have  a  message  for  you  to  send." 
He  went  into  his  cabin  and  wrote  a  glow- 


160       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ing  account  of  the  engagement,  in  which 
he  gave  unstinted  praise  to  his  "  gallant 
blue-jackets  and  petty  officers." 

Scarce  had  his  back  been  turned, 
when  the  first  lieutenant  came  up  and 
spoke  to  the  signal-officer.  "  Mr.  Jones, 
I  shall  have  a  despatch  for  the  Asso 
ciated  Press  in  an  hour  or  so.  Oblige 
me  by  signalling  to  the  shore  station 
while  I  go  and  write  it."  He  retired 
to  the  ward-room  and  drew  up  a  thrill 
ing  report  of  the  battle,  "in  which  I 
had  the  honor  to  command  this  vessel, 
and  in  which  I  had  the  hearty  support 
of  every  sailor  and  petty  officer  on 
board." 

The  colonel  of  marines  laid  his  hand 
on  the  signal-officer's  arm  as  he  was 
about  to  operate  the  wireless  instru 
ment.  "Just  a  minute,  Lieutenant 
Jones.  Will  you  do  me  the  favor,  when 
you  get  the  Marconi  station,  to  ask  for 
the  Associated  Press  agency?  I  wish 
to  send  a  communication." 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       161 

He  withdrew  to  his  quarters  to  pre 
pare  a  pithy  bulletin  of  the  battle,  in 
which  he  said:  "The  gallant  marine 
corps  under  my  command  performed 
such  prodigies  of  valor  as  to  turn  the 
tide  at  the  critical  moment."  He  es 
pecially  commended  the  "  coolness  and 
bravery  of  the  enlisted  men." 

Meanwhile  the  signal-officer  lost  no 
time  in  getting  into  communication 
with  the  Marconi  station,  and  giving  a 
brilliant  account  of  the  fight,  which  re 
sulted  in  the  total  destruction  of  the 
enemy  after  twenty  minutes  of  hot 
work,  "in  which  the  signal  corps  proved 
its  efficiency  under  fire,  and,  by  its  cool 
readiness  to  seize  every  point  of  van 
tage,  ultimately  turned  the  scales  in 
favor  of  our  flag.  Where  all  the  corps 
acquitted  itself  so  brilliantly,"  he  added, 
"it  would  be  invidious  to  single  out  any 
particular  individual  for  commendation. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  was  distinctly 
a  signal-corps  fight  and  victory."  Mr. 


1 62       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

Jones  happened  to  be  the  only  member 
of  the  corps  on  board  in  that  cruise. 

It  was  a  memorable  hour,  during 
which  all  the  chief  officers  of  the  ship 
were  thus  engaged  in  making  his 
tory. 

Alas!  it  was  something  more.  For 
while  the  deck  was  thus  deserted  by  its 
officers,  nobody  had  noticed  that  the  ba 
rometer  was  falling  ominously.  No 
body  had  an  eye  to  the  dark  clouds 
banking  up  on  the  western  horizon. 
Nobody  knew  or  thought  of  danger 
until  it  was  upon  them. 

The  Libyan  Gulf  well  deserves  the 
bad  repute  in  which  it  is  held  by  all  ex 
perienced  shipmen.  The  dread  simoom 
of  the  Himalayas,  sweeping  down  on  the 
plains  of  the  Caucasus,  gathers  irresisti 
ble  force  on  its  northward  march  until, 
compressed  into  the  funnel  made  by  the 
twin  ranges  of  the  Kur-loo  Mountains, 
it  is  discharged  with  the  velocity  of  a 
cannon-shot  into  the  broad  expanse  of 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       163 

the  gulf.  Woe  to  the  hapless  craft  in 
the  path  of  that  burning  blast! 

The  captain,  summoned  to  the  bridge 
by  a  wild  cry  from  the  man  at  the  wheel, 
abandoned  his  despatch-writing  to  face 
a  more  dangerous,  if  less  difficult,  duty. 
Hastily  giving  the  necessary  orders, 
which  pressure  of  other  matter  in  these 
pages  compels  us  to  omit,  he  sent  for  a 
chart  and  tried  to  find  the  bearings  of 
his  precious  craft  on  this  black  and 
swirling  waste  of  waters. 

"  We  must  be  not  far  S.S.E.  or  S.S.E. 
by  E.  of  Cape  Izzard,"  he  said,  at  last. 
He  rang  for  more  steam.  "  It  is  a  close 
call  to  double  the  cape,"  he  said. 
"What  do  you  think,  Mr.  Porgie?" 

The  first  lieutenant,  also  hastily  called 
from  his  literary  labors,  laid  an  ink- 
smeared  forefinger  on  the  chart.  "  Not 
sea-room  enough  for  that,  sir,  I  fear," 
he  said. 

"  How  about  Cape  Alpha,  across  the 
gulf?"  inquired  the  captain. 


1 64       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

The  lieutenant  shook  his  head.  "  We 
haven't  steam  enough  up  to  carry  us 
through  a  cross-sea  like  this." 

"Then  we  must  make  for  Roota- 
Baaga,"  sighed  the  captain.  "I  was 
going  there  anyhow,  but  not  so  soon. 
Can  we  lie  off  and  on  for  an  hour  or  two, 
think  you?" 

"We  can  try,"  replied  his  assistant, 
cautiously,  "but  it  is  ticklish  work  off 
a  lee  shore,  and  no  anchor  would  hold 
five  minutes  if  we  had  to  club-haul  her 
in  such  a  gale." 

"Oh,  hang  it!"  cried  the  captain. 
"You're  a  regular  croaker.  We  must 
make  Roota  -  Baaga,  I  see,  sooner  or 
later,  even  if  it's  too  soon.  Keep  her  on 
her  present  course  for  half  an  hour 
longer,  and  call  me  when  you  see  the 
light.  It  should  be  almost  three  points 
to  starboard  on  this  course." 

But  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
he  was  called  by  a  loud  cry  from  the 
forward  lookout,  "  Breakers  ahead !"  As 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      165 

he  rushed  on  deck  he  heard  another, 
from  the  lookout  amidships,  "  Breakers 
to  port!"  Quickly  as  an  echo  almost 
came  the  third  cry,  "  Breakers  to  star 
board!" 

"The  light!  the  light!"  he  shouted, 
hoarsely. 

"  Three  points  on  the  port  bow!" 

"Port?  You  fool!  You  mean  star 
board?" 

But  one  glance  showed  him  that  the 
vigilant  lookout  was  not  mistaken. 
He  stared  over  the  bulwarks,  and  there, 
brilliantly  flashing  on  the  port  bow,  was 
the  unmistakable  Pharos  of  Roota- 
Baaga  Harbor. 

A  moment  later  and  the  ship  struck 
with  a  hideous,  crushing  shock,  and  her 
two  funnels  swayed,  groaned,  and  top 
pled  over  the  side. 


XV 
The  Pirate's  Secret  Unveiled 

Sometimes  a  man  doth  wisely  commit 
his  work  to  another,  as  when  he  wish- 
eth  his  ship  wrecked  for  the  insur 
ance. — The  Business  Man's  Primer. 


NLY  two  pair  of  human  eyes  be 
held  the  end  of  the  Olive  Branch 
with  all  her  complement  of  pi 
rates.  Dazee  and  the  renegade, 
with  the  connivance  of  the  light 
house-keeper,  had  had  the  powerful  lens 
and  reflectors  carried  across  the  harbor 
and  set  up  in  a  ruined  tower  command 
ing  the  bay.  At  nightfall  the  lamp  was 
lighted,  and  sent  its  deceitful  beams  far 
across  the  waters.  The  lookout  on  the 
pirate  ship  saw  the  false  beacon,  and, 
166 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      167 

deeming  that  there  was  sufficient  sea- 
room,  conned  the  ship  straight  upon  the 
fatal  reef. 

As  the  lighting  apparatus  was  equip 
ped  with  a  Marconi  receiver,  it  was  the 
privilege  of  the  grim  general  to  read  the 
only  account  of  the  sea-fight,  that  sent 
by  the  signal-officer,  to  his  own  great 
honor  and  glory.  The  sudden  storm 
had  prevented  his  forwarding  the  other 
narratives;  so  that  the  world  perforce 
had  to  accept  the  solitary  account,  and 
never  knew  that  the  real  hero  of  the 
Libyan  Gulf  was  the  chief -engineer,  who, 
at  the  moment  of  shipwreck,  was  draw 
ing  up  a  form  of  contract  to  be  offered 
to  various  lecture-bureaus  for  an  en 
gagement  of  one  hundred  nights  at  one 
thousand  piastres  a  night  and  expenses. 
But  so  are  the  facts  of  history  perverted, 
even  without  the  aid  of  courts  of  in 
quiry. 

"  I  thought  that  soldiers  could  manip 
ulate  the  truth  better  than  most  men," 


1 68       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

commented  the  general;  "but  the  whole 
ocean  has  not  salt  enough  to  savor  the 
yarns  of  deep-sea  liars.  I  suppose  the 
signal-man  got  it  from  writing  weather 
prognostications  when  he  was  on  shore." 

Dazee  made  no  reply.  She  was  think 
ing  deeply  and  wondering  what  would 
happen,  should  the  Olive  Branch  fail  to 
be  misled  by  the  changed  lights. 

Her  fears  were  needless.  Far  beyond 
the  boiling  surf,  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff, 
she  saw  anon  the  lights  of  the  great  ship. 
Presently  she  was  able  to  make  out  the 
doomed  hulk  surging  shoreward  with 
every  lift  of  the  billows.  Now  it  was 
almost  in  the  phosphorescent  glare  of 
the  breaking  water. 

A  moment  later  and  the  thud  of  the 
striking  keel  was  heard  over  the  noise 
of  tempest  and  breakers. 

Again  and  again  the  brave  craft 
grounded  heavily.  Wild  cries  came 
from  the  wreck. 

The  renegado  was  stirred  by  an  emo- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      169 

tion  of  pity.     "Can  we  do  naught  to 
save  the  poor  devils?"  he  said. 

"Naught,"  replied  Dazee;  "and  be 
thankful  that  it  is  so.  The  first  man 
saved  would  turn  upon  us  like  a  wolf  re 
leased  from  a  trap.  I  know  them." 

"  But  can  we  stand  here  and  see  them 
perish,  without  lifting  a  hand?" 

"We  can  do  nothing,"  she  replied, 
emphatically.  "  The  stoutest  boat  ever 
built  would  not  live  a  minute  in  that  sea, 
much  less  save  others  from  it." 

The  soldier  shrugged  his  shoulders. 
He  was  not  unacquainted  with  death 
in  hot  blood,  or  in  cold ;  but  never  before 
had  he  assisted  others  to  it  save  with 
sword  or  gun,  wnich  he  looked  upon  as 
accessories  to  a  natural  death. 

"You  think  me  heartless,"  cried 
Dazee,  divining  his  thoughts;  "but  you 
know  not  all.  You  fancy  that,  mayhap, 
that  craft  can  yet  ride  over  the  bar  and 
into  safety.  She  never  will.  I  will  tell 
you  why.  She  is  laden  deep  with 


170      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

stone — massive  blocks  of  granite  and 
marble,  and  huge  iron  girders.  Do  you 
know  for  what?" 

"  I  do  not,"  said  her  companion. 

"Then  list,  and  I  will  whisper  the 
truth,  which  explains  and  justifies  every 
thing.  The  ship  will  perish  because  she 
is  so  laden.  That  cargo  represents  the 
raw  material  of  libraries  —  a  score  of 
them." 

The  soldier's  face  paled  as  he  began 
to  surmise  the  dread  truth.  "  Libraries 
for  Roota-Baaga?"  he  asked,  in  awe. 

"Libraries  for  Roota-Baaga;  libraries 
for  Babosa;  libraries  for  every  city, 
town,  and  hamlet  in  all  Gallimatia. 
And  what  besides,  think  you?" 

"Surely  nothing  else  of  that  ilk!" 
gasped  the  appalled  warrior. 

"Yes,  more,  and  worse,"  she  hissed. 
"  Money,  bonds,  and  legal  papers  for  the 
endowment  of  a  score  of  universities  to 
be  founded  in  —  say,  rather,  on  the 
ruins  of — this  doomed  land,  but  for  our 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      171 

timely  interference.  To  us  it  owes  its 
preservation  from  an  age  of  university 
settlements,  intercollegiate  foot  -  ball 
matches,  coeducation  in  all  its  insip 
idity,  college  societies,  college  degrees, 
college  yells: 

"'Whoop!  Scoop!  Got-'em-in-the-soup! 
Gosh!     Bosh!     White-wash! 
U-ni-versity  of  Osh-kosh!' 

Would  not  such  a  prospect  appall  and 
even  jar  thee?" 

The  veteran  trembled  with  mingled 
dread  and  rage  as  he  grasped  her  by  the 
arm.  "Then  the  commander  of  yon 
dying  bark,"  he  said,  "must  be  none 
other  than  the  scourge  of  humanity — " 

She  took  the  word  from  his  lips: 
"  Karni-Fellah,  the  ferocious  philan 
thropist  of  the  Dark  Blue  Sea." 

The  soldier  touched  the  nine-pounder 
which  lay  in  an  embrasure  of  the  ruined 
fort.  He  trained  it  on  the  wreck  pound 
ing  to  pieces  below.  But  it  was  unload- 


172       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

ed  and  unnecessary.  The  deck  of  the 
Olive  Branch  was  now  awash,  and  every 
soul  of  her  crew  had  been  swallowed  up 
by  the  sea. 

Dazee  breathed  more  freely  when  she 
was  thus  assured  of  the  destruction  of 
her  enemy.  Between  her  and  happiness 
now  lay  only  the  genie's  curse ;  but  that 
was  enough  to  appall  a  heart  less  coura 
geous  than  hers. 

The  situation  was  critical,  viewed  in 
any  light.  Should  the  curse  prove 
efficacious,  death  must  be  her  fate. 
Should  she  live,  what  hope  had  she  of 
holding  the  affections  of  the  king,  based 
as  they  were  on  his  confidence  in  her 
perfect  love? 

Within  the  short  space  of  twenty- 
four  hours  or  less  she  should  know  all 
or  nothing — perchance  more  than  she 
had  ever  dreamed  of  knowing. 

The  king,  as  we  know,  was  not  less 
perturbed  in  spirit.  He  loved  the  fair 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      173 

young  stranger  whose  heart  he  had  won 
by  his  masterly  stratagem  of  wooing  her 
in  the  guise  of  a  humble,  friendless 
Bedouin.  He  loved  himself,  of  course. 
It  was  his  duty.  By  the  law  of  the 
realm,  every  one  in  Gallimatia  was 
bound  to  love  his  sovereign;  and  who 
should  set  a  better  example  of  obedience 
to  law  than  he  who  was  the  fount  and 
source  of  all  authority? 

Yet  he  knew  that  to  lose  his  bride  by 
death  would  be  almost  the  greatest  of 
calamities.  But  to  have  her  saved  at 
the  cost  of  his  perfect  trust  in  her  love 
was  unthinkable. 

After  all,  the  key  of  the  situation 
might  lie  in  the  hands  of  the  genie. 
And  he  was  middle-aged,  irascible,  and 
justly  jealous  of  his  professional  repu 
tation. 

His  pride  as  an  artist  and  his  position 
as  a  high  officer  of  the  I.  W.  U.  were 
both  at  stake. 

Put  yourself  in  his  place, 


174      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

Or  in  that  of  the  king, 

Or  of  Dazee, 

Or  of  the  author  of  this  sad  history; 

Especially  in  the  latter' s. 


XVI 
A  Night  of  Horror 

A  certain  prophet  predicted  that 
the  world  would  come  to  an  end 
within  one  twelvemonth,  and  when 
men  laughed  at  him  he  said,  proud 
ly,  that  "Posterity  would  vindicate 
him." — Sap'ed  ibn  Abu  Kalor. 


OTWITHSTANDING  the  dread 
suspense  under  which  he  suffered, 
the  good  king  departed  in  no  wise 
from  his  usual  custom  of  cele 
brating  his  marriage  eve  by  din 
ing  informally  with  a  few  chosen  friends. 
It  was  a  simple  repast,  consisting  of 
pasties,  fried  lobster  with  whipped 
cream,  cheese  toasted  in  the  Occidental 
manner,  nuts,  coffee,  and  plain  wines  of 
various  vintages.  The  little  party  sup 
ped  heartily  until  a  late  hour,  and  none 
175 


176       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

bore  himself  more  lightly  than  the  noble 
host.  "  He  will  be  firm  and  composed 
to  the  last,"  said  the  admiring  guests. 
Alas,  they  little  knew  what  horrors  the 
intrepid  diner  of  the  night  was  to  under 
go  ere  the  morn! 

Bel- Abba  was  shocked  when  he  be 
held  his  noble  master's  countenance  on 
entering  the  royal  bed-chamber  at  day 
break;  but,  ever  mindful  of  etiquette, 
he  was  silent  until  the  king  spoke, 
abruptly:  "Bel- Abba,  thou  art  wise  in 
the  lore  of  visions.  Tell  me,  what  mean- 
eth  it  to  dream  of  cats — boiled  cats?" 

Bel-Abba  stroked  his  beard.  He  was 
not  wont  to  answer  such  deep  questions 
without  deliberation.  But  the  king 
was  impatient  and  went  on:  "I  have 
suffered  enough  the  past  night  to  turn 
my  hair  white.  I  wonder  if" — he  look 
ed  closely  into  the  mirror,  first  on  one 
side  and  then  on  the  other  of  his  shape 
ly  head  —  "thou  hast  heard  of  such 
cases — hast  not,  Bel- Abba?" 


"Celebrating  his  marriage  eve  by  dining  informally" 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      177 

"Not  precisely,  your  Majesty,"  was 
the  cautious  reply,  "save  that  of  the 
rich  money-lender  Asehi ;  but  the  change 
in  his  hair  was  contrary  to  all  traditional 
precedent,  in  that  it  turned  from  white 
to  black  in  a  single  night.  It  gave  rise 
to  much  wonder  among  the  common 
people,  particularly  as  it  occurred  only 
three  days  before  his  marriage,  which 
took  place  in  his  seventy-fourth  year." 

"Dost  know  of  what  he  dreamed  on 
that  fearful  night?"  asked  Sap'ed,  and, 
not  waiting  for  a  reply,  continued: 
"Mine  was  a  weird  and  woful  vision. 
Methought  I  was  crossing  a  desert  and 
suddenly  found  myself  threatened  by 
an  enormous  blue  lion  with  flaming 
mane.  Forgetting  in  my  surprise  to 
quell  him  with  a  single  look,  as  thou 
knowest  all  kings  are  able  to  do,  I  fled 
ignominiously  and  climbed  into  a  tall 
tree,  at  the  foot  of  which,  and  almost  at 
my  feet,  the  monster  roared  and  thirsted 
for  my  blood.  Alarmed  by  a  hissing 


178       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

sound  above  my  head,  I  looked  up  and 
beheld  a  huge  serpent  coiled  about  the 
trunk  of  the  tree  and  menacing  me  with 
his  horrible  fangs." 

"And  what  did  your  Majesty  do?" 

"Awoke!  What  else  could  I  have 
done  and  lived  to  tell  the  tale?" 

"  Truly,  your  Majesty,  as  ever,  did  the 
right  and  only  thing,  since  thou  hadst 
forgotten  or  too  mercifully  refrained 
from  annihilating  both  of  the  beasts 
with  a  flash  of  thy  lightning  orbs." 

"  Nay,  Bel  -  Abba,  that  was  not  all. 
Bathed  as  I  was  in  cold  perspiration,  I 
incautiously  fell  asleep  again,  and,  ere  I 
could  recover,  dreamed  that  I  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  gloomy  morass,  sunken  up  to 
my  knees.  There  were  low  banks  on 
either  side.  On  the  right  a  screaming 
host  of  angry  baboons,  on  the  left  a 
horde  of  dwarfed  monsters  fought,  one 
against  the  other,  and  hurled  missiles 
over  my  head  across  the  morass.  What 
those  missiles  were  I  knew  not  until  one 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      179 

or  two  smote  me  rudely  as  they  flew 
past.  Bel-Abba,  the  fiends  were  pelt 
ing  one  another  with  cats — boiled  cats!" 

The  monarch  paused  to  note  the  effect 
of  this  startling  news.  Bel- Abba  was 
surprised ;  but,  before  offering  any  inter 
pretation,  asked,  prudently,  "  Were  they 
hard-boiled  or  soft,  your  Majesty?" 

"  Now  that  is  a  strange  question,  Bel- 
Abba.  What  difference  would  it  make?" 

"  That  I  know  not,"  was  the  sagacious 
answer;  "but  it  is  of  the  utmost  im 
portance  to  know  all  the  facts  in  such 
important  cases.  I  have  known  the 
fate  of  an  empire  to  hang  upon  slighter 
matters  than  the  degree  of  mellowness 
in  a  dish,  whether  it  were  boiled  or 
broiled .  But  leaving  that  point  in  abey 
ance  for  the  present,  was  there  aught 
else,  your  Majesty?" 

"  Aught  else!  Was  not  that  enough? 
Now  expound  it  to  me.  Doth  it  por 
tend  well  or  ill  for  me  and  Gallimatia?" 

"  Well,  your  Majesty — well,  of  course. 


180       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

Of  that  there  can  be  no  doubt,  whatever 
it  means." 

"  Well !' '  echoed  the  king.  "  But  what 
meanest  thou  by  '  well '  ?  That  my 
adored  bride  will  be  well,  like  that  ad 
vance  agent  of  famine,  Hanemia? 
Would  that  bring  us  any  solace?  Or 
dost  mean  that  the  atrocious  curse  of 
the  genie  shall  fall  on  her  precious  head 
and  blast  our  life  with  eternal  despair?" 

"I  humbly  crave  pardon,"  said  the 
disconcerted  courtier.  "  I  but  meant 
that,  according  to  the  old  adage,  em 
balming  the  wisdom  of  our  ancestors, 
dreams  always  go  by  contrary,  and  that 
the  grewsome  shapes  which  have  had 
the  temerity  to  obtrude  themselves  on 
your  Majesty's  sacred  slumbers  are  but 
disguised  harbingers  of  bliss  unspeak 
able.  The  lion  and  the  serpent,  typi 
fying  the  two  alternative  dangers  threat 
ening  your  Majesty's  peace  of  mind, 
shall  be  conquered  by  the  glance  of 
those  royal  eyes,  which  were  inadvert- 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      181 

ently  delayed  in  their  work  during  the 
time  of  the  visions.  The  other  uncouth 
monsters  shall  be  annihilated  in  the 
same  way,  if  thou  take  care  to  look 
them  full  in  the  face  the  next  time  they 
appear  to  disturb  thy  hallowed  dreams. 
Meantime,  a  little  blue-pill,  taken  before 
breakfast,  shall  restore  your  Majesty's 
nervous  system,  assailed  by  evil  spirits 
and  perchance  by  indigestible  aliment." 
But  the  king  shook  his  head  sadly, 
as  mistrusting  the  interpretation  and 
spurning  the  suggestion.  "Advice,"  he 
said,  "is  like  unto  the  so-called  'safety* 
razor  of  the  Frank  renegado,  good  enough 
for  one's  own  face,  but  a  poor  thing  in 
a  fight." 


XV11 

The  King's  Mystery 

Allah  be  praised!  I  have  no  van 
ity.  Enough  for  me  if  men  say,  "His 
modesty  doth  equal  his  merit." — 
Shacabac  on  Humility. 


T  was  the  great  day,  the  most  mo 
mentous  in  all  the  annals  of  Galli- 
matia.  Hours  before  the  dawn, 
and  all  through  the  preceding 
night,  the  glad  populace  gave 
vent  to  their  joy  by  continuous 
firing  of  bombs  and  rockets  and  dyna 
mite  cartridges.  Joy-bells  were  rung 
in  every  tower  and  bonfires  blazed  on 
plaza  and  hill- top. 

Something,  it  is  true,  was  lacking  of 
the  old  -  time  freedom  with  which  the 
light-hearted  peasantry  had  been  wont 
182 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       183 

to  accentuate  their  own  happiness  by 
roasting  a  few  Jews  on  festal  occasions. 
But  the  last  time  that  this  had  been 
done,  in  the  reign  of  good  El  Hashem, 
annoying  protests  had  been  sent  in 
from  foreign  nations  which  no  longer 
indulged  in  the  fine  old  pastime.  One 
Christian,  civilized  people  said  that  it 
was  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  age  to 
express  national  joy  by  anything  more 
personal  than  the  blowing  of  prisoners 
from  the  mouths  of  cannons  or  the  in 
genious  punishment  of  the  enemy's 
women  and  children.  Another  nation 
still  kept  up  the  genial  custom  of  burn 
ing  black  men  at  the  stake,  and  had  de 
vised  a  pretty  game  of  torture  which 
they  called  the  "water-cure";  but  they 
sternly  frowned  upon  the  barbecue  as 
applied  to  the  Hebrew. 

So  the  night  passed  off  with  nothing 
more  diverting  than  the  maiming  of 
private  citizens  by  fireworks;  but  the 
utmost  good  feeling  prevailed  through- 


184      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

out,  and  the  ambulances  never  enjoyed 
so  much  patronage  in  a  single  evening. 

Two  hours  before  high  noon  the  mili 
tary  cavalcade  formed  on  the  grand 
plaza  and  was  reviewed  by  the  com 
mander  -  in  -  chief  in  full  uniform.  A 
snow-white,  richly  jewelled  turban  sur 
mounted  his  grizzled  locks.  On  his 
broad  breast  gleamed  a  score  of  medals, 
orders,  stars,  and  crescents,  with  jewels 
worth  a  king's  ransom.  The  monster 
diamond  flashing  from  the  pommel  of 
his  sword  had  been  captured  with  an 
Indian  rajah,  who  became  detached 
from  it  in  the  division  of  spoils. 

Punctually  at  the  hour  of  noon  the 
royal  cortege  emerged  from  the  palace 
gate,  preceded  by  a  detachment  of 
the  household  guards. 

The  bride!  But  what  pen  could  de 
scribe  the  beauteous  Dazee  in  the  su 
preme  moment  of  her  grandeur  and 
happiness?  The  eloquent  lady  reporter 
of  the  Court  Journal  confessed  that  it 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       185 

was  beyond  her  experienced  power  to 
do  so.  Then  she  gave  a  minute  account 
of  every  detail  in  that  superb  trousseau. 
And  it  was  superb,  for  the  bride  had 
spared  neither  pains  nor  wealth  to  per 
fect  the  creation.  She  and  the  prop 
erty  mother,  after  long  and  earnest  con 
sultation  together,  had  decided  that 
Sap'ed,  fond,  generous,  and  noble- 
hearted  as  he  was,  must  not  arouse  a 
jealous  feeling  in  the  bosom  of  the 
queen  mother  or  of  any  of  the  queens 
by  extravagant  bridal  gifts  of  jewels 
or  precious  stuffs.  Yet  would  they  not 
wound  his  susceptibilities  by  letting 
him  suspect  that  they  had  even  dis 
cussed  the  subject.  With  exquisite 
tact,  the  property  mother,  taking  him 
aside  one  day,  and  playfully  assuming 
a  mock  maternal  air,  which  some  men 
do  much  enjoy  in  the  ante-nuptial  pe 
riod,  told  him  that  he  must  not  spoil 
her  dear  child,  whose  tastes  we're  all 
so  simple,  and  who  had  been  reared 


1 86       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

to    disregard    the    vain    ornaments    of 
fashion. 

And  when  the  king  protested,  vow 
ing  by  his  honor  that  she  must  have  a 
present  worthy  of  the  favorite  queen, 
the  property  mother  shook  her  head, 
smiling  gently,  and  would  not  listen  to 
him  until,  seeing  that  he  was  vexed,  she 
relented  and  suggested  as  a  compro 
mise  that  he  make  a  gift  which,  remain 
ing  in  the  family,  would  not  be  a  thing 
given  —  to  wit,  that  he  create  Dazee 
Princess  of  the  Province  of  Asprag,  one 
of  the  richest  of  the  kingdom,  and  pro 
ducing  a  noble  revenue.  Thus  by  her 
timely  wisdom  was  a  critical  matter  ad 
justed,  and,  as  the  property  mother 
said,  "  the  dear  child  did  not  come  a 
beggar  to  her  lofty  spouse" ;  and  so  was 
the  good  lady  enabled  to  give  a  fitting 
frame  to  the  jewel  of  her  heart,  without 
sacrificing  family  pride  or  adding  any 
thing*  worth  mentioning  to  the  fiscal 
burdens  of  Asprag  the  happy. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      187 

After  the  royal  couple  and  the  three 
other  queens  came  the  queen  mother 
and  the  property  mother,  in  a  gorgeous 
palanquin. 

Next,  alone,  in  splendid  state,  silent, 
sphinxlike,  portentous,  the  great  genie 
El  Hatem. 

The  ceremony  was  conducted  with 
decorous  slowness,  occupying  fully  three 
hours. 

At  last  the  solemn  pledges  were  spoken 
and  the  high  imaum  pronounced  the  ir 
revocable  words  which  made  Dazee 
Queen  of  Gallimatia. 

King  Sap'ed  turned  to  salute  his  fair 
bride.  In  his  ardor  he  did  not  perceive 
that  she,  at  that  critical  moment,  was 
engaged  in  taking  her  temperature  with 
a  bulb  thermometer  between  her  lovely 
lips.  She  had  felt  her  pulse  at  intervals 
during  the  ceremony,  dreading  to  find  the 
first  symptom  of  approaching  dissolu 
tion.  A  gush  of  blood  from  her  mouth 
alarmed  and  horrified  the  spectators,  who 


1 88      The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

knew  not  that  it  had  been  caused  by 
the  breaking  of  the  bulb  under  the  sud 
den  caress.  Surprise,  pain,  and  con 
fusion  overwhelmed  her,  so  that  her 
only  refuge  lay  in  promptly  swooning. 
The  which  she  did  with  easy  grace. 

The  three  queens,  forgetful  of  ungen 
erous  rivalry,  hastened  to  her  side  with 
womanly  solicitude,  all  eager  to  min 
ister  to  her. 

"Poor  thing!"  said  Hanemia.  "She 
has  not  had  a  mouthful  since  she  left  the 
palace.  Cannot  somebody  get  her  a 
sandwich?"  > 

"What she  needs,"  said  Ijeya,  "is  air 
and  exercise.  Run,  some  one,  and  fetch 
a  pair  of  dumb-bells,  if  you  do  not  want 
to  kill  the  child." 

"  Not  dumb  -  bells,  dear,"  interposed 
Kandora.  "You  mean  Indian  clubs, 
no  doubt,  love;  though,  for  my  part,  I 
remember,  when  I  was  only  a  little  tot, 
that  my  precious  father  made  me  a  pres 
ent  of—" 


'Alone,  in  splendid  state,  silent,  .  .  .  the  great  genie,  El  Hatem" 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      189 

But  here  King  Sap'ed,  thrusting  them 
rather  rudely  aside,  ordered  the  slaves 
to  bring  a  litter  and  bear  their  mistress 
to  the  palace. 

So  she  was  carried  to  her  apartments, 
attended  by  the  property  mother  and 
the  king  and  followed  gloomily  by  the 
dread  genie. 

But  the  awe-stricken  people  remain 
ing  behind  shook  their  heads  ominously, 
and  one  said,  with  tears:  "Truly,  King 
Sap'ed  hath  at  last  found  his  affinity — 
found  and  lost!  Praise  be  to  Allah,  he 
hath  yet  some  hope;  for  it  is  said  that, 
with  the  first  death,  dieth  also  the 
curse." 

"Mark  the  black  genie!"  muttered 
another.  "How  he  strideth  along  like 
unto  an  undertaker,  feigning  melan 
choly  and  counting  his  profits  withal! 
'Twere  a  deed  not  ill  done,  did  some 
straight-eyed  musketeer—  Just  then 
the  genie  chanced  to  turn  his  head  and 
look  carelessly  in  the  direction  of  the 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

speaker,  who  hastily  added,  "follow  the 
holy  man  to  guard  him  from  any  evil 
mishap." 

Motionless  and  unconscious  to  all 
eyes,  Dazee  lay  on  her  richly  embroid 
ered  couch  attended  only  by  her  mother 
and  the  court  physician.  Slowly  the 
moments  went  by,  but  all  too  quickly 
for  those  who  knew  that  the  life  or 
death  of  the  beloved  queen  should  be 
determined  ere  the  setting  of  that  day's 
sun.  Within  the  palace  reigned  a  sa 
cred  stillness,  which,  as  the  poet  laureate 
beautifully  said  in  his  masterpiece  de 
scriptive  of  the  event,  "was  echoed  in  a 
hundred  thousand  loyal  hearts  without." 

The  court  physician,  the  same  faith 
ful  servitor  who  had  attended  the  first 
queen  in  her  illness  and  knew  the  dread 
dilemma  in  which  his  royal  master  was 
placed,  hoped  against  hope  that,  what 
ever  the  issue,  it  would  not  be  to  the 
utter  unhappiness  of  the  good  King 
Sap'ed. 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed       191 

As  for  the  king  himself,  he  sat  on  a 
divan,  bowed  with  grief  and  anxiety. 
Never  before  had  he  felt  the  full  ma 
lignity  of  the  genie  in  devising  such  a 
torture.  If  the  idea  of  life  without 
love  was  intolerable,  the  thought  of  love 
without  life  was  unbearable. 

Anon  he  would  rage  openly  against 
the  genie,  for  that  punctilious  necro 
mancer  had  refused  all  entreaties  to  re 
main  in  the  palace,  on  the  ground  that 
he  had  "  an  important  engagement  else 
where."  Apparently  neither  love  nor 
hate  nor  even  a  becoming  interest  in  the 
outcome  of  his  own  malediction  could 
withhold  him  from  his  accursed  exact 
ness  of  habit. 

But  rage  or  grief  was  alike  in  vain. 
There  was  naught  for  the  hapless  mon 
arch  to  do  but  await  the  issue  with  what 
fortitude  he  might.  And  the  dial  fin 
ger  was  creeping  slowly,  slowly  to  the 
fatal  hour. 

The  property  mother  came  out  of  the 


192       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

chamber,  and  the  king  accosted  her 
eagerly.  But  she  was  weeping  and  un 
able  to  answer  him  more  than  to  say 
that  the  leech  still  hoped  for  the  best — 
whatever  it  were. 

Then  did  Sap'ed,  forgetting  his  own 
grief,  essay  to  console  her.  "Should 
we  be  doomed  to  lose  this  inestimable 
treasure,"  he  said,  "I  shall  never  smile 
again  on  earth.  But"  —  here  he  re 
membered  that  the  king  has  a  duty  as 
well  as  the  man — "but,  come  what  may, 
it  shall  never  be  forgotten  while  Galli- 
matia  endures,  that  thy  sweet  daughter 
loved  the  king  who  had  chosen  her,  even 
unto  death  itself.  Though  we  ourselves 
shall  never  know  earthly  happiness 
again,  yet  that  melancholy  pleasure  will 
remain  as  a  solitary  ray  in  our  night  of 
gloom.  But  what  do  I  say?"  he  cried, 
in  anguish.  "It  shall  not  be!  I  am  a 
husband  as  well  as  a  king,  and  I  cannot 
give  her  up !' ' 

But  the  more  he  pondered  the  awful 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      193 

mystery  the  deeper  grew  his  anguish. 
He  strove  to  compose  his  distressed 
mind  by  weighing  the  dread  alterna 
tives  in  turn,  with  disastrous  result  in 
either  case: 


"  If     Dazee     loves  i 
me,"  he  said  to  him 
self,  "she  will  surely 
die. 

"And,"  he  contin 
ued,  sadly,  "if  Dazee 
lives,  she  assuredly 
loves  me  not ;  and  so  ^ 


"  I  am  doom 
ed   to    be   the 
>•  most  unhappy 
monarch  in  the 
world!" 


The  physician,  who  had  gone  to  at 
tend  his  patient,  returned  with  vel 
vet  tread  and  subdued  voice  to  say: 
"The  queen  is  conscious,  but  I  fear 
it  is  only  temporary.  Would  your 
Majesty  be  pleased  to  see  her  be 
fore—" 

Here  he  discreetly  stopped,  but  the 
king  arose  at  once.  "  Take  me  to  her," 


194       The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed 

he  said,  and  shuddered  as  he  glanced  at 
the  dial.  The  property  mother,  fol 
lowing  his  eye,  was  also  shaken  with 
emotion.  In  a  broken  whisper  she 
begged  the  physician  to  report  as  soon 
as  possible.  The  grave  man  bowed  as 
sent,  and  led  the  agitated  king  to  the 
sick-chamber. 

It  seemed  an  age  to  the  waiting  one 
without,  as  she  saw  the  dial  mark  the 
fatal  line  and  the  dread  shadow  fall  like 
a  veil  over  its  face. 

A  moment  later,  and  the  king  reap 
peared  at  the  portal. 

His  head  was  bowed.  His  face  was 
white.  In  his  staring  eyes  was  a  dazed 
look,  as  of  one  who  had  been  made  the 
plaything  of  a  malicious  fate.  What 
did  it  mean? 

The  watcher  could  bear  no  more. 
She  staggered  to  her  feet  and  in  a  choked 
voice  asked:  "The  news,  your  Majesty 
— the  news?  Keep  it  not  from  me! 
What— what  is  it?" 


The  Sorrows  of  Sap'ed      195 

And  the  great  Sap'ed  ibn  Abu  Kalor, 
King  of  all  Gallimatia,  but  opened  his 
ashen  lips  and  said: 

"The  worst!" 


THE    END 


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